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University  of  California. 

Received  <^ /(Tl^.  •  fQf^o  . 

Accession  No.  o/^  ^  Q     .    Class  No. 


^ 


Queen  Victoria. 


F'^vntispicci: 


ECLECTIC   SCHOOL   READINGS 


THE 
STORY  OF   THE  ENGLISH 


BY 


H.   A.   GUERBER 


-o-o>§e^Oo- 


NEW  YORK  •:•  CINCINNATI  •••  CHICAGO 
AMERICAN    BOOK   COMPANY 


DA^ 


cC 


Copyright,  1898,  by 
AMERICAN   BOOK  COMPANY. 


A II  rights  reserved. 


STORY    OF   THE   ENGLISH^ 

W.   P.   4 


0-3 


PREFACE. 


O-O^^CK) 

Down  to  the  colonial  period,  if  not  to  the  Revolutionary  War, 
English  history  concerns  American  children  just  as  much  as  it 
does  their  brothers  and  sisters  who  speak  the  same  language  on 
the  other  side  of  the  broad  Atlantic.  It  is  therefore  very  impor- 
tant that  our  boys  and  girls  should  as  soon  as  possible  become 
familiar  with  its  salient  events. 

To  interest  them  in  their  own  race,  introduce  them  to  their 
mother  country,  and  make  the  past  as  vivid  as  possible,  charac- 
ters, customs,  and  places  have  in  this  book  been  depicted  princi- 
pally through  anecdotes,  many  of  which  have  become  classical, 
although  not  all  are  admitted  into  works  intended  for  more  ma- 
ture minds. 

The  gradual  evolution  of  English  law,  the  growth  of  liberty, 
and  the  various  changes  in  religion  are  as  unintelligible  as  unin- 
teresting to  the  average  child ;  so  they  have  been  touched  upon 
very  briefly,  and  in  the  most  simple  way. 

The  principal  object  has  been  to  make  pupils  so  familiar 
with  the  prominent  characters  of  English  history  that  these  shall 
henceforth  seem  like  old  acquaintances,  and,  in  addition,  to  use 
every  device  to  make  history  so  attractive  to  youthful  minds  as  to 
rouse  their  enthusiasm  and  stimulate  them  to  further  study. 

Although  all  the  main  facts  have  been  given,  least  space  has 
been  allotted  to  modern  times.     That  is  not  only  because  many 

5 


of  the  events  which  have  occurred  within  the  past  two  centuries 
are  more  difficult  of  comprehension,  but  because  any  intelHgent 
child  is  sure  to  have  them  brought  to  his  or  her  notice  in  other 
books.  For  that  reason,  also,  the  wars  in  America  are  merely 
mentioned,  and  pupils  are  referred  to  United  States  histories  for 
detailed  accounts  of  them. 

To  enrich  young  minds  and  to  emphasize  the  need  of  patient 
endeavour,  courage,  faithfulness,  gentleness,  truthfulness,  and  all 
other  desirable  qualities,  all  that  is  good  has  been  heartily  com- 
mended, and  all  that  is  base  or  dishonourable  has  been  made  to 
appear  in  an  unfavourable  light.  Nevertheless,  it  has  also  been 
the  writer's  aim  to  cultivate  a  spirit  of  fairness  and  charity  towards 
all  men. 

Much  reading  and  research  stand  back  of  this  little  book,  and 
the  author  is  indebted  to  historians,  biographers,  novelists,  poets, 
and  artists  for  the  material  of  which  it  is  composed.  It  is  with 
the  hope  that  the  road  to  literature  and  history  will  seem  easier 
and  more  attractive,  after  the  way  has  been  made  somewhat 
smoother  by  these  little  paving  stones,  that  this  book  is  placed 
before  the  public. 


The  pronunciation  of  difficult  proper  names  has  been  indicated 
in  the  text,  in  order  to  make  easier  the  reading  of  the  book,  and 
to  prevent  the  formation  of  incorrect  habits  of  pronunciation. 
The  symbols  used  for  this  purpose  are  self-explanatory  in  most 
cases ;  the  diacritical  marks  are  explained  on  p.  343.  Besides 
this,  the  pronunciation  of  all  proper  names  is  more  fully  indicated 
by  diacritical  marks  in  the  index. 


CONTENTS. 


o-o>«<Oo 

PAGE 

I. 

Early  Times 1 1 

II. 

The  Druids         .... 

13 

III. 

Tlie  Britons        .... 

17 

IV. 

Caesar  in  Britain 

21 

V. 

Queen  Boadicea 

24 

VI. 

The  Great  Walls         .         .         . 

26 

VII. 

The  Great  Irish  Saint 

29 

VIII. 

The  Anglo-Saxons 

31 

IX. 

Brave  King  Arthur     . 

•       34 

X. 

The  Laws  of  the  Saxons 

•       36 

XI. 

The  Story  of  St.  Augustine 

.       38 

XII. 

Three  Great  Men 

.       41 

XIII. 

The  Danish  Pirates    . 

.       42 

XIV. 

King  Alfred  and  the  Cakes 

.       46 

XV. 

Alfred  conquers  the  Danes 

49 

XVI. 

A  King's  Narrow  Escape    . 

•       53 

XVII. 

The  King  and  the  Outlaw 

55 

XVIII. 

The  Monasteries 

57 

XIX. 

An  Unlucky  Couple    . 

58 

XX. 

St.  Dunstan 

61 

XXI. 

King  Canute  and  the  Waves 

63 

XXII. 

A  Saxon  Nobleman    . 

67 

XXIII. 

Lady  Godiva's  Ride    . 

7 

70 

8 


PAGE 


XXIV. 

The  Battle  of  Hastings 

.       IZ 

XXV. 

The  Conquest        .         .         .         , 

76 

XXVI. 

Lords  and  Vassals 

.       79 

XXVII. 

Death  of  William 

.       82 

XXVIII. 

The  Brothers'  Quarrels 

84 

XXIX. 

Arms  and  Armour 

88 

XXX. 

The  "  White  Ship  "       . 

91 

XXXI. 

Matilda's  Narrow  Escapes 

93 

XXXII. 

The  Story  of  Fair  Rosamond 

96 

XXXIII. 

Thomas  a  Becket 

99 

XXXIV. 

The  Murder  of  Thomas  a  Becket 

lOI 

XXXV. 

Richard's  Adventures    . 

.     105 

XXXVI. 

Richard  and  the  Saracens     . 

.     107 

XXXVII. 

The  Faithful  Minstrel   . 

no 

XXXVIII. 

Death  of  Richard 

113 

XXXIX. 

The  Murder  of  Arthur 

117 

XL. 

The  Great  Charter 

.     119 

XLI. 

The  Weak  Rule  of  Henry  III. 

.     124 

XLII. 

A  Race          .         . 

126 

XLIII. 

Persecution  of  the  Jews 

128 

XLIV. 

The  Conquest  of  Wales 

.     131 

XLV. 

A  Quarrel  with  France 

.     134 

XLVI. 

The  Coronation  Stone  . 

137 

XLVII. 

The  Insolent  Favourite 

140 

XLVIII. 

Bruce  and  the  Spider    . 

143 

XLIX. 

Death  of  Edward  II. 

.     147 

L. 

The  Murderers  punished 

150 

LI. 

The  Battle  of  Crecy       . 

152 

LII. 

The  Siege  of  Calais 

156 

LIII. 

The  Age  of  Chivalry     . 

159 

LIV. 

The  Battle  of  Poitiers    . 

162 

LV. 

The  Peasants'  Revolt    . 

166 

LVI. 

Richard's  Presence  of  Mind  . 

168 

PAGE 


LVII. 

A  Tiny  Queen    . 

.           171 

LVIII. 

Henry's  Troubles 

.          174 

LIX. 

Madcap  Harry    . 

176 

LX. 

A  Glorious  Reign 

.           179 

LXI. 

The  Maid  of  Orleans 

.           183 

LXII. 

The  Beginning  of  the  War  of  th 

e  Roses 

.           187 

LXIII. 

The  Oueen  and  the  Brigand 

.           189 

LXIV. 

The  Triumph  of  the  Yorks 

•           193 

LXV. 

The  Princes  in  the  Tower  . 

.          196 

LXVI. 

Richard's  Punishment 

.          200 

LXVII. 

Two  Pretenders 

.          202 

LXVIII. 

A  Grasping  King 

.          205 

LXIX. 

The  Field  of  the  Cloth  of  Gold 

.          207 

LXX. 

The  New  Opinions 

.       211 

LXXI. 

Death  of  Wolsey 

.       214 

LXXII. 

Henry's  Wives    . 

.       217 

LXXIII. 

The  King  and  the  Painter 

.       220 

LXXIV. 

A  Boy  King 

.       222 

LXXV. 

The  Story  of  Lady  Jane  Grey 

.       226 

LXXVI. 

The  Death  of  Cranmer 

230 

LXXVII. 

A  Clever  Oueen 

•       233 

LXXVIII. 

Elizabeth's  Lovers 

235 

LXXIX. 

Mary,  Queen  of  Scots 

238 

LXXX. 

Captivity  of  Mary  Stuart     . 

241 

LXXXI. 

Wreck  of  the  Spanish  Armada   . 

244 

Lxxxn. 

The  Elizabethan  Age 

246 

LXXXIII. 

Death  of  Elizabeth 

250 

LXXXIV. 

A  Scotch  King  .         .         .         . 

252 

LXXXV. 

The  Gunpowder  Plot 

254 

LXXXVI. 

Sir  Walter  Raleigh 

257 

LXXXVII. 

King  and  Parliament 

260 

LXXXVIII. 

Cavaliers  and  Roundheads 

N 

263 

LXXXIX. 

"Remember"    .         .         .         . 

266 

lO 


PAGB 


xc. 

The  Royal  Oak 

269 

XCI. 

The  Commonwealth 

271 

XCII. 

The  Restoration 

275 

XCIII. 

Plague  and  Fire 

278 

XCIV. 

The  Merry  Monarch 

280 

xcv. 

James  driven  out  of  England 

283 

XCVI. 

A  Terrible  Massacre 

286 

XCVII. 

William's  Wars 

288 

XCVIII. 

The  Duke  of  Marlborough 

.     291 

XCIX. 

The  Taking  of  Gibraltar 

294 

c. 

The  South  Sea  Bubble     . 

.     296 

CI. 

Bonny  Prince  Charlie 

•     299 

CII. 

The  Black  Hole  of  Calcutta 

•     303 

cm. 

Loss  of  the  Thirteen  Colonies 

•     305 

CIV. 

The  Battle  of  the  Nile      . 

•     309 

cv. 

Nelson's  Last  Signal 

.     312 

CVI. 

The  Battle  of  Waterloo     . 

■     314 

evil. 

The  First  Gentleman  in  Europe 

•     319 

CVIII. 

The  Childhood  of  Queen  Victoria 

.     320 

CIX. 

The  Queen's  Marriage 

.     323 

ex. 

Some  Wars  in  Victoria's  Reign 

■     327 

CXI. 

The  Jubilee      .... 

•     334 

Genealogical  Table    .... 

340 

The  Sovereigns  of  England 

.     342 

Index 

• 

1 

343 

MAPS. 

Great  Britain  and  Ireland 

France   

India 

World,  showing  British  Possessions 


opposite  1 1 
.  114 
.     302 

•     332,  333 


\;  \  B  R  A  fTy 
"UNIVERSITY 


rrV 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  ENGLISH. 


-00>@<CK>- 


I.   EARLY    TIMES. 


IF  you  look  at  a  map  of  Europe,  you  will  notice  two 
large  islands  and  many  small  ones  at  a  short  distance 
west  of  the  mainland.  It  is  the  story  of  the  people  who 
have  lived  upon  these  islands  that  you  are  now  going  to 
hear.  As  you  can  see,  the  islands  are  so  small  that  no 
matter  how  far  inland  you  travel,  you  are  never  more  than 
one  hundred  miles  away  from  the  water  which  hems  them 
in  on  all  sides.  On  the  north  and  west  there  is  the  Atlan- 
tic Ocean,  on  the  south  the  English  Channel,  and  on  the 
east  the  North  Sea. 

These  islands  are  now  called  the  United  Kingdom  of 
Great  Brit'ain  and  Ireland,  and  they  form  one  of  the  fore- 
most countries  of  the  world.  Great  Britain  includes  Eng- 
land, Scotland,  and  Wales,  besides  the  many  little  islands 
near  by ;  and  as  the  language,  laws,  and  .customs  of  Great 
Britain  are  mostly  English,  you  will  find  that  you  will  hear 
more  about  England  than  about  the  other  parts  of  the 
realm. 

Nobody  knows  just  when  the  history  of  England  really 

II 


12 


begins,  because  it  commenced  long  before  people  learned 
how  to  read  or  write,  or  keep  any  kind  of  record  of  passing 
events.  Many,  many  years  before  Christ,  these  islands 
were  inhabited  by  a  rude  race,  who  hunted  and  fished, 
lived  in  caves,  dressed  in  the  skins  of  the  beasts  they  had 
slain,  and  often  made  war  against  one  another.  We  know 
this  because,  from  time  to  time,  farmers  have  dug  up  stone 
arrowheads  and  spears,  knives  and  axes  made  of  flint, 
and  have  found  the  bones  of  these  ancient  men  and 
women.  Among  the  ashes  of  their  fires  there  have  also 
been  found  the  bones  of  the  animals  whose  flesh  they  ate, 
or  the  shells  of  oysters  and  clams. 

As  these  early  inhabitants  used  stone  weapons,  their 
time  is  generally  known  as  the  Stone  Age.  In  the  course 
of  time  the  people  grew  more  civilized,  discovered  metals, 
and  learned  how  to  make  better  weapons.  Some  of  these 
weapons  have  also  been  dug  up  :  they  belong  to  the  second 
period,  which  is  called  the  Bronze  Age.  Such  stone  and 
bronze  weapons  are  carefully  kept  in  museums,  where  you 
can  see  them  to-day,  although  the  people  who  once  used 
them  have  been  dead  for  thousands  of  years. 

The  British  Isles  are  far  out  in  the  ocean,  and  since  the 
ships  which  ancient  people  used  were  as  clumsy  as  their 
knives  and  spears,  the  early  inhabitants  of  this  country 
could  not  leave  their  homes  to  visit  the  mainland.  They 
did  not  need  to  do  so,  for  these  islands  are  very  fertile, 
owing  principally  to  the  mist  which  rises  from  the  sea, 
and  which  keeps  the  grass  in  England  green  nearly  all  the 
year  round. 

On  bright,  clear  days,  when  there  is  no  mist  at  all, 
people  standing  on  the  coast  of  France,  at  the  spot  where 


13 

the  English  Channel  is  narrowest,  can  just  see  the  tall 
white  chalk  cliffs  on  the  southern  coast  of  England. 
These  cliffs  are  so  dazzlingly  white  that  the  people  who 
lived  in  France  used  to  call  England  the  White  Land. 
This  name  was  translated  into  Latin  by  the  Romans,  who 
called  the  country  Al'bi-on,  a  name  which  you  will  still 
sometimes  find  in  poetry,  but  rarely  in  prose. 

The  white  cliffs  of  Great  Britain  roused  the  curiosity  of 
the  early  inhabitants  of  France,  the  Gaels  (galz),  to  such 
a  point  that  some  of  them  at  last  went  out  to  sea  in  their 
little  boats,  which  were  fashioned  of  roughly  woven  willow, 
and  covered  with  skins  so  as  to  be  water-tight. 

In  such  rude  craft  the  Gaels,  after  a  time,  either  pad- 
dled or  drifted  to  England  ;  and  when  they  found  what  a 
beautiful  country  it  was,  and  saw  that  game  was  plentiful, 
they  settled  down  there.  These  Gaels,  however,  were 
only  one  tribe  of  a  very  large  nation  which  is  known  as 
the  Celtic  race.  They  talked  a  language  of  their  own,  of 
which  there  are  many  traces  in  the  Gaelic,  a  tongue  which 
is  still  spoken  in  some  parts  of  Ireland  and  Scotland,  but 
which  is  very  unlike  our  English. 


O-O^^CK) 

II.  THE    DRUIDS. 

THE  Gaels  were  a  very  rude  people,  but  they  were  a 
little  more  civilized  than  the  first  inhabitants  of  Brit- 
ain. They  went  out  on  their  hunting  or  fighting  expedi- 
tions under  the  leadership  of  one  of  their  number,  who,  on 
account  of  his  strength  or  skill,  was  chosen  to  be  their  chief. 


14 

They  had  also  learned  how  to  build  mud  huts,  which  they 
placed  close  together  and  surrounded  with  a  wall  of  tree- 
trunks  and  mud.  This  wall  protected  their  dwellings  from 
the  attacks  of  the  wild  beasts  which  ranged  through  the 
forests  then  covering  the  greater  part  of  the  island. 

The  Gaelic  villages  multiplied  until  they  soon  dotted  the 
southern  coast  of  England.  Then,  little  by  little,  the  Gaels 
improved,  and  learned  to  make  a  kind  of  cloth,  which  they 
used  for  clothing  instead  of  the  skins  of  wild  beasts,  and 
to  fashion  clumsy  earthenware  pots,  in  which  they  cooked 
their  food. 

But,  just  as  the  Gaels  had  driven  away  the  first  inhabit- 
ants, of  whom  we  know  so  little,  the}'  were,  in  turn,  driven 
away  themselves.  Another  tribe  of  the  same  race,  called 
the  Celts,  now  came  from  the  mainland  ;  and  as  they  were 
more  civilized  than  the  Gaels,  and  had  better  weapons,  they 
forced  the  Gaels  to  retreat  before  them  into  the  interior  of 
the  country. 

The  newcomers  knew  how  to  plough,  and  sow,  and  reap, 
as  well  as  to  hunt  and  fight.  They  brought  with  them 
their  priests,  who  were  called  Dru'ids,  and  began  to  prac- 
tise in  England  what  is  known  as  the  Dru-id'ic  religion,  or 
Dru'id-ism. 

These  priests  were  the  wisest  men  of  the  Celtic  nation, 
and  they  knew  something  of  agriculture,  arithmetic,  as- 
tronomy, medicine,  etc.  They  were  very  careful,  however, 
to  teach  what  they  knew  only  to  a  few  of  the  most  intel- 
ligent men  of  the  tribe,  who  thus  became  Druids  too,  and 
were  greatly  respected  by  their  less  learned  companions. 

At  first  the  Druids  used  to  teach  their  disciples  by  re- 
peating over  and  over  again  the  things  they  knew  ;  and  as 


15 

it  is  easier  to  remember  poetry  than  anything  else,  most 
of  their  knowledge  was  put  into  a  sort  of  rhyme.  The 
Druids  wore  long  white  linen  garments  and  strange  golden 
ornaments.  They  selected  one  of  their  number  to  be  their 
chief,  and  obeyed  him  in  all  things.  The  chief  is  said 
to  have  worn  a  little  golden  box,  which  contained  a  ser- 
pent's egg.  But  you  must  not  imagine  that  this  was  an 
ordinary  snake's  Ggg.  Oh,  no!  The  Druids  said  it  was  a 
magic  egg,  and  that  if  the  box  were  put  into  the  water  it 
would  swim  against  the  current. 

Now  the  Celts  and  Gaels  were  so  ignorant  that  they 
believed  all  this,  and  listened  attentively  to  everything  the 
Druids  told  them.  But  although  the  Druids  did  make 
them  believe  some  very  silly  things,  they  also  taught  them 
some  very  useful  know^ledge.  For  instance,  these  priests 
told  them  that  there  was  one  great  and  powerful  God,  who 
had  made  them  and  enabled  them  to  live.  They  said  that 
this  God  was  so  great  that  no  temple  could  hold  him,  and 
hence  they  always  worshipped  him  out  of  doors. 

Sometimes  the  Druids  held  their  services  under  a  huge 
oak  tree,  in  the  depths  of  the  great  forest.  Then  they 
would  tell  the  people  that  the  oak  was  an  emblem  of  the 
great  God  whom  they  worshipped,  w^hile  the  mistletoe,  a 
little  plant  which  grew  on  its  bark,  was  like  man,  who  was 
so  w^eak  and  small  that  he  could  not  live  for  a  moment 
without  the  help  of  God. 

The  Druids  had  very  solemn  services  at  times  ;  and  once 
a  year  they  used  to  march  out  into  the  forest,  accompanied 
by  holy  w^omen  who  were  supposed  to  have  the  gift  of 
prophecy.  These  women  wore  long  white  linen  robes,  had 
crowns  of  vervain  on  their  heads,  and  carried  golden  sic- 


i6 


kles,  with  which  the  Druids  cut  down  the  mistletoe  while 
chanting  a  sort  of  hymn.  The  herb  thus  gathered  was 
used  for  medicine,  and  the  Celts  believed  that  it  would 
cure  almost  every  disease. 

In  different  parts  of  England,  you  can  still  see  huge 
stone  altars  or  tables,  which  are  called  dolmens.  The 
rocks  which  form  these  altars  are  so  large  that  it  is  not 
easy  to  understand  how  the  Druids  built  them  ;  but  it  is 
evident  that  these  wise  men  knew  something  about  ma- 
chinery, and  secretly  made  use  of  this  knowledge  to  put 
them  up.     The  ignorant  people,  however,  believed  that  the 


Stonehenge. 

stones  had  moved  into  their  places  at  a  mere  touch  of  the 
Druids'  magic  wands. 

Although  the  Druids  generally  offered  up  a  horse  or 
some  other  animal,  they  sometimes  laid  human  sacrifices 
on  these  great  stone  slabs,  in  which  little  grooves  were  cut 
to  receive  the  blood.  As  they  fancied  that  such  a  sacri- 
fice was  agreeable  to  God,  the  victim  sometimes  offered 


17 

to  die  of  his  own  free  will.  In  times  of  war,  prisoners 
were  sacrificed  ;  but  when  they  were  very  numerous,  the 
Druids  made  a  huge  wicker  cage  in  the  shape  of  a  man, 
crammed  it  full  of  captives,  and  then  set  it  afire,  while 
the\'  intoned  their  chants. 

Besides  the  stone  altars,  the  Druids  are  also  supposed 
to  have  built  one  of  the  strangest  monuments  in  the  world, 
that  known  as  Stone'henge,  on  the  Salisbury  (sawlz'ber-y) 
Plain  in  England.     There, 

around  a  huge  stone  altar,  -^^^^'^^sS^^si^s^^ 

you   can   see   two    circles   ^y'l'l^i  \     ,,  '  iU-^ti' i v ^J^^^^^ 
of   upright   stones,  which  |>i  ^i '1  ■  |? j  '  ^  l^iL:^ i^^^ 
were   once   connected    bv   \iA  llYWyl^P^^^^^'r^^^^ §:  l) 

at  slabs    laid   on    top   of        ^'*^^x''    "       '%-«.Jf^SJ--^^ 
them.     Learned  men  now  Stonehenge  (restored), 

think  that  this  was  one  of 

the  Druidic  temples,  and  hence  left  open  to  the  sky  ;  but 
it  was  built  so  long  before  real  history  began,  that  the 
people,  unable  to  account  for  its  origin,  declared  it  had 
risen  by  magic,  in  the  course  of  a  single  night,  from  stones 
spirited  over  the  sea  from  Ireland. 


00^:^00 

III.   THE   BRITONS. 

THE  Gaels  and  Celts  were  followed  by  a  third  tribe  of 
their  own  race,  called  the  Brit'ons,  from  whom  the 
country  took  the  name  of  Britain.  They,  too,  came  from 
the  mainland,  and,  being  more  civilized  than  the  Celts, 
drove  them  away  from  the  coast  into  the  interior.     The 

STO.   OF    EXG. — 2 


i8 


Celts,  in  their  turn,  drove  the  Gaels  still  farther  away,  and 
forced  them  to  go  and  live  in  the  mountains  of  Scotland 
and  Wales,  where  it  was  cold  and  foggy,  but  where  there 
was  plenty  of  game. 

The  Britons,  however,  had  just  the  same  religion  as  the 
Celts,  and  so  they  brought  over  more  Druids,  of  their 
own  tribe,  who  finally  settled  in  the  island  of  An'gle-sey. 
Here  they  founded  a  school,  where  they  would  keep  a 
pupil  at  his  studies  for  twenty  years,  making  him  learn 
by  heart  all  they  knew.  Besides  the  jJruids,  there  were 
teachers,  or  prophets,  and  a  class  of  men  called  bards,  who 
went  about  from  place  to  place,  singing  the  great  deeds  of 
heroes,  which  they  or  the  Druids  had  woven  into  songs. 

The  Britons  were  braver  and  stronger  than  the  Celts, 
and  had  better  weapons.  Their  main  pleasure  was  to  ter- 
rify their  enemies.  To  do  this,  they  used  to  utter  fearful 
cries,  and  brandish  their  spears.  Each  spear  was  provided 
with  a  y  rattle,  which  made  a  great  din  when  shaken 

or  flu. -J.  It  was  fastened  to  the  warrior's  wrist  by  a  long 
strap ;  and  after  a  Briton  had  flung  his  spear  at  an  enemy 
he  would  jerk  it  back  by  this  strap. 

As  the  Britons  wore  big  moustaches,  and  painted  their 
bodies  blue,  you  can  readily  imagine  how  strange  they 
looked,  and  how  they  must  have  frightened  their  enemies. 
They  were  fierce  and  quarrelsome,  and  rode  small  horses, 
which  they  had  trained  to  fight  too.  These  shaggy  little 
ponies  used  to  dash  into  the  very  midst  of  the  fray,  and 
stand  still  while  their  riders  dismounted ;  but  as  soon  as 
they  felt  their  m.asters  on  their  backs  once  more,  they 
would  rush  off,  knocking  the  enemies  over  and  trampling 
them  under  foot.      After  the  Britons  had  settled  in  Eng- 


19 

land,  they  learned  to  make  rude  war  chariots,  to  which 
they  harnessed  these  intelHgent  Httle  horses,  which  they 
guided  by  signs.  To  make  more  havoc,  the  Britons  fas- 
tened scythes  to  their  chariot  wheels,  and,  driving  rapidly 
into  the  very  midst  of  the  enemy,  mowed  their  foes  down 
like  ripe  grain. 

Now,  although  the  Gaels,  Celts,  and  Britons  were  so 
rude  at  this  time,  there  were  other  nations  in  Europe  who 
had  progressed  faster,  and  had  already  reached  a  high 
degree  of  civilization.  Towards  the  south,  along  the  shores 
of  the  Mediterranean  Sea,  there  were  many  prosperous 
cities.  Most  of  these  had  been  founded  by  the  Phce-nT^- 
cians,  who,  as  they  owned  but  a  little  strip  of  land  on  the 
coast  of  Asia,  turned  to  the  sea  and  became  great  navi- 
gators. Already,  one  thousand  years  before  Christ,  the 
Phoenicians  had  coasted  all  around  the  Mediterranean  Sea, 
and  we  are  told  that  they  even  ventured  out  into  the 
Atlantic  Ocean,  through  the  Strait  of  Gi-brart.i.  They 
soon  began  to  carry  goods  from  one  place  to  another,  and 
thus  became  great  traders. 

Men  in  those  days  were  always  fighting,  so  they  wanted 
armour  and  weapons ;  and  as  copper  is  not  quite  hard 
enough  for  this  purpose,  they  needed  something  to  mix 
with  it  so  as  to  harden  it.  The  Phoenicians  knew  that  tin 
was  just  what  was  needed ;  and  as  they  could  not  find 
enough  of  this  metal  near  home  to  supply  the  demand, 
they  sailed  off  in  search  of  tin  mines  elsewhere.  They 
soon  found  some  in  Spain,  and  got  tin  from  the  natives  in 
exchange  for  cloth  and  trinkets;  then,  when  they  reached 
home,  they  sold  this  tin  at  such  profit  that  they  soon  be- 
came very  rich.      But  since  the  tin  mines  in  Spain  could 


20 


not  furnish  as  much  metal  as  the  Phoenicians  wanted, 
they  soon  sailed  all  around  Spain,  and  along  the  coast  of 
France,  in  search  of  more.  Here  some  merchants  told 
them  that  they  could  find  all  the  tin  they  wanted  in  Brit- 
ain;  so  the  Phoenicians,  if  old  stories  be  true,  crossed  the 
Channel  and  landed  in  England.  There  the  Phoenicians 
found  mines  so  rich  that  they  are  still  worked  to-day, 
nearly  three  thousand  years  after  they  were  first  discovered. 

As  the  Phoenicians  made  large  profits  by  their  tin  trade, 
they  were  very  careful  not  to  tell  any  one  where  the  mines 
were  situated  ;  and  whenever  any  one  inquired  where  they 
got  their  metal,  they  would  always  answer,  "  From  the 
Cas-si-ter'i-des,"  or  Tin  Islands. 

Many  years  later,  the  Romans,  who  were  great  fighters, 
and  needed  a  great  deal  of  tin  for  the  manufacture  of  their 
weapons,  were  very  anxious  to  find  these  islands ;  so  they 
fitted  out  a  vessel  and  sent  it  away  with  orders  to  watch 
and  follow  a  Phoenician  ship,  and  not  to  give  up  the  pur- 
suit until  the  Tin  Islands  had  been  reached. 

The  Roman  captain  was  a  bold  and  clever  man,  so  he 
managed  to  sail  after  the  Phoenicians  for  a  long  while 
unseen ;  but  finally  the  Phoenician  captain  discovered  that 
he  was  followed,  and  that  the  long-guarded  secret  was 
Hkely  to  become  known  to  his  foes.  Rather  than  let  them 
find  it  out,  he  resolved  to  sacrifice  his  boat  and  crew. 

So  he  changed  his  course  a  little,  and  lured  the  Roman 
vessel  on  into  shallow  waters,  until  it  came  on  a  sunken 
reef  and  was  dashed  to  pieces.  The  Phoenician  vessel 
could  not  escape  the  same  fate,  but  the  captain  and  his 
crew  managed  to  cling  to  the  spars  until  they  were  washed 
ashore  or  rescued.     The  men  on  the  Roman  vessel,  how- 


21 


ever,  all  perished  ;  and  it  was  not  till  two  hundred  years 
later,  and  in  a  different  way,  that  the  Romans  found  out 
where  the  Tin  Islands  were  situated. 


-o-0>#400- 


IV.   C^SAR    IN    BRITAIN. 

IN  exchange  for  the  tin  from  the  mines  of  Wales  and 
Corn'wall,  the  Phoenicians  brought  the  Britons  many 
useful  things,  and  taught  them  how  to  make  better  weap- 
ons. But  as  few  people  besides  the  Phoenicians  ever  came 
to  Britain,  the  inhabitants  progressed  very  slowly,  and 
were  still  savages  when  JuTius  Cae'sar,  the  most  famous 
of  Roman  generals,  conquered  Gaul,  the  country  which  is 
now  called  France. 

Hearing  from  some  merchants  that  the  Britons  had  sent 
help  to  the  Gauls,  Caesar  made  up  his  mind  to  cross  the 
Channel  and  punish  them.  Vessels  were  prepared  to  carry 
the  Roman  legions  (or  regiments)- across  the  water;  and 
one  night,  when  a  favourable  wind  was  blowing,  Caesar 
and  his  men  embarked.  Early  the  next  morning  they 
drew  near  the  tall  white  cliffs  at  Do'ver;  and,  seeing  no 
good  landing  place  there,  Caesar  bade  his  men  sail  east- 
ward along  the  coast  until  they  came  to  a  shelving  beach. 

Warned  by  the  merchants  that  Caesar  was  coming  over 
to  concjuer  them,  the  fierce  Britons  had  assembled  there. 
They  watched  the  coming  of  the  Romans,  who  gazed  with 
surprise  at  them;  for  their  bodies  were  painted  blue,  and 
they  uttered  blood-curdling  cries  as  they  brandished  their 
spears  and  shook  their  war  rattles. 


22 


Although  surprised,  the  Roman  soldiers  under  Caesar 
were  too  hardened  warriors  to  be  frightened ;  and  as  soon 
as  the  water  was  shallow  enough,  the  standard  bearer 
sprang  out  and  waded  ashore,  closely  followed  by  his  com- 
panions. Then  the  Britons  and  the  Romans  had  a  fierce 
battle  ;  but  in  spite  of  their  great  bravery,  the  Britons  were 
defeated  and  forced  to  make  a  treaty  with  Caesar.  As 
some  of  the  tribes  in  Gaul  had  taken  advantage  of  his 
absence  to  revolt,  Caesar  did  not  remain  in  Britain  to  con- 
tinue his  conquests,  but  hastily  recrossed  the  Channel. 
When  he  had  put  down  this  rebellion,  he  found  that  the 
Britons  did  not  keep  their  promises,  so  he  crossed  the 
Channel  once  more,  with  a  larger  army,  to  force  the  Brit- 
ons to  obey  him.  They  resisted  fiercely,  but  vainly,  under 
the  able  leadership  of  a  brave  chief  named  Cas-si-vel- 
lau'nus. 

These  two  expeditions  into  Britain  were  made  in  the 
years  55  and  54  B.C.,  and  it  was  thus  that  the  Romans 
became  masters  of  the  country  where  the  tin  mines  were 
situated.  Caesar  himself  wrote  an  account  of  both  cam- 
paigns in  his  "  Commentaries,"  a  Latin  work  which  is  still 
read  in  our  schools.  In  that  book  the  country  is  called 
Bri-tan/ni-a — a  name  still  used  in  poetry  to-day. 

The  Britons,  thus  brought  into  contact  with  the  Romans 
for  a  short  time,  made  some  progress ;  but,  instead  of 
keeping  the  treaty  they  had  made,  they  proved  for  a 
while  very  rebellious  subjects.  During  the  next  one  hun- 
dred years  the  Romans  were  too  busy  elsewhere  to  pay 
much  attention  to  them  ;  so  it  was  not  till  the  time  of  the 
emperor  ClauMi-us  that  legions  were  again  sent  out  to 
their  island. 


23 


This  time  the  Britons  were  led  by  Ca-rac'ta-cus,  who 
foueht  for  nine  years  before  he  was  conquered.  The 
Roman  oeneral  then  took  this  Briton  chief  to  Rome, 
where  the  captive  was  forced  to  march  in  chains  in  the 
victor's  triumph.  As  the  barbarian  slowly  passed  along 
the  streets  of  the  Eternal  City,  amid  the  deafening  shouts 


G.  r.    Hani,  Artist. 


Caractacus  led  in  Triumph  through  Rome. 


of  the  people,  he  gazed  in  awe  at  the  beautiful  buildings, 
and  bitterly  cried  :  "  Alas!  how  is  it  possible  that  a  people 
possessed  of  such  magnificence  at  home  could  envy  me  my 
humble  cottage  in  Britain?" 

This  remark  was  repeated  to  the  emperor  Claudius,  and, 
although  he  was  not  noted  for  his  kind-heartedness,  he  was 
so  touched  by  the  Briton  chief's  bravery  and  homesickness 
that  he  set  him  free,  as  well  as  the  other  captives  of  his 
race. 


24 


V.   QUEEN    BOADICEA. 

IN  defeating  Caractacus,  the  Romans  had  become  mas- 
ters of  the  southern  part  of  the  island  only.  Many 
Britons  were  not  subdued,  and,  helped  by  the  Celts  and 
Gaels,  they  often  revolted.  The  Roman  generals  stationed 
in  Britain  put  down  one  revolt  after  another;  but  finally 
Sue-to'ni-us,  one  of  them,  declared  that  he  was  sure  the 
Druids  advised  the  Britons  to  fight.  He  therefore  made 
up  his  mind  to  go  and  attack  the  priests  in  their  island  of 
Anglesey,  and  set  out  with  his  legions. 

As  Suetonius  drew  near  the  Druid  stronghold,  he  saw 
that  the  priests  had  been  warned  of  his  coming,  for  they 
rushed  forward  to  meet  him,  uttering  strange  cries  and 
curses.  They  were  armed,  and  fought  fierce!}-,  while  the 
women,  too,  attacked  the  enemy  with  lighted  torches, 
uttering  shrill  screams,  and  wildly  tossing  their  long  hair. 

In  spite  of  the  brave  defence  of  the  Druids,  Suetonius 
landed  on  the  island,  killed  the  priests  and  bards,  overthrew 
the  altars  and  temples,  and  cut  down  the  sacred  oak  trees 
beneath  whose  shade  thev  had  been  wont  to  slather. 
But  while  he  was  doing  this,  some  other  Roman  soldiers 
cruelly  illtreated  Bo-ad-i-ce'a,  the  queen  of  one  of  the 
Briton  tribes,  and  insulted  her  two  daughters. 

Escaping  from  their  hands  with  her  unhapp}^  daughters, 
Boadicea  drove  in  her  chariot  all  through  the  land,  calling 
the  people  together,  and  telling  them  how  shamefully  the 
Romans  had  treated  her  and  her  poor  children.  As  she 
spoke,  the  men's  eyes  gleamed  with  anger;  and  at  her 
appeal,  they  all  took  up  their  arms  and  swore  to  avenge 


25 

her.  Led  by  this  woman,  the  Britons  went  forth  to  fight 
the  Romans,  took  their  principal  city,  killed  the  seventy 
thousand  strangers  who  dwelt  there,  and  set  fire  to  the 
beautiful  buildings  which  the  Romans  had  put  up.  But 
their  triumph  did  not  last  long,  for  they  soon  met  Sueto- 
nius coming  back  from  Anglesey.  He  attacked  them,  and 
although  the  Britons  fought  more  fiercely  than  ever  before, 
they  were  soon  completely  beaten. 

We  are  told  that  ei^htv  thousand  Britons  died  on  that 
field  of  battle,  and  that  Boadicea  killed  herself  and  her 
children,  rather  than  fall  into  the  enemy's  hands  and  be 
taken  to  Rome  to  figure  in  the  victor's  triumph. 

This  victory  left  the  Romans  masters  of  the  greater  part 
of  the  island.  All  the  Britons  who  were  not  willinsf  to 
obey  them  fled  to  the  mountains,  to  join  the  Picts  and 
Scots,  who  were  also  Celtic  tribes.  Here  the  Romans  did 
not  dare  venture,  for  fear  they  should  lose  their  way  and 
fall  into  an  ambush.  From  time  to  time,  parties  of  war- 
riors would  make  sudden  raids  down  into  the  country,  kill- 
ing, burning,  and  robbing  wherever  they  went.  Then,  be- 
fore the  Roman  soldiers  could  overtake  them,  thev  w^ould 
carry  their  spoil  back  to  the  mountains,  to  hide  until  it 
was  time  for  a  new  expedition. 

To  prevent  these  inroads  into  the  country,  which  was 
rapidly  becoming  fertile  and  civilized,  the  Romans  built 
large  fortified  camps  at  Ex'e-ter,  Chester,  and  York,  which 
last  they  made  their  capital.  In  these  camps,  or  cities, 
they  built  beautiful  houses,  temples,  and  public  baths,  such 
as  they  had  in  Rome.  There  are  still  some  traces  of  these 
fine  buildings,  and  the  well-made  Roman  roads,  which 
connected  the  different  camps,  are  still  good  to-day. 


26 


Little  by  little,  the  Britons  learned  many  of  the  Roman 
arts;  and  in  the  first  century  of  our  era,  some  of  them 
heard  Christian  soldiers  tell  the  story  of  Christ,  and  be- 
came Christians.  For  many  years  Roman  soldiers  did  all 
the  fighting  in  Britain,  while  the  young  Britons  who  joined 
the  army  were  sent  to  fight  in  other  lands,  under  Roman 
generals. 

O-O^rQt^OO 


VI.  THE    GREAT   WALLS. 

TO  protect  the  northern  part  of  Britain  from,  the  raids 
of  the  Picts  and  Scots,  the  Romans  built  three  walls 
all  across  the  island  at  its  narrowest  point.  These  walls, 
which  are  more  than  seventy  miles  long,  are  known  by  the 
names  of  the  emperors  by  whose  order  they  were  built, 
and  are  hence  called  the  walls  of  Ha'dri-an,  of  An-to-ni'- 
nus,  and  of  Se-ve^rus. 

As  the  Romans  were  noted  for  their  solid  masonry, 
their  walls  stood  firm  for  many  long  years,  and  even  now, 
nearly  seventeen  centuries  after  the  last  wall  was  finished, 
there  are  some  parts  of  it  still  standing.  Along  the  walls, 
at  certain  intervals,  were  towers  where  the  Roman  soldiers 
stood  on  guard  night  and  day,  so  that  the  Picts  and  Scots 
could  not  force  their  way  into  the  cultivated  lands. 

Nearly  five  hundred  years  after  the  Romans  first  set 
foot  in  Britain,  and  when  the  country  was  quite  used  to 
their  rule,  Rome  was  threatened  by  a  terrible  invasion  of 
barbarians.  The  legions  were  all  needed  to  protect  the 
frontier  nearer  home,  so  an  order  was  sent  to  Britain  re- 
calling all  the  troops. 


27 


The  Britons  were  in  despair,  for  those  who  were  now 
left  on  the  island  did  not  know  how  to  fight,  and  all  the 
people  were  afraid  of  the  Scots  and  Picts.  But  the 
Roman  legions  could  not  stay ;  so  they  gave  the  Britons 


William  Bell  Scott,  Artist. 


Building  a  Roman  Wall. 


weapons,  taught  them  how  to  fight,  and  bade  them  keep 
watch  on  the  walls  and  drive  back  their  enemies  whenever 
they  came  down  from  Cal-e-do'ni-a,  as  Scotland  was  then 
called. 


28 


As  soon  as  the  Romans  had  left  the  country,  the  PIcts 
and  Scots  marched  southward.  When  they  came  near  the 
great  walls,  they  were  surprised  to  see  men  on  guard  there, 
and  hesitated  for  a  little  while ;  but  they  soon  took  cour- 
age, and,  rushing  forward,  they  climbed  over  the  walls  and 
drove  away  the  Britons,  who  dared  not  resist. 

There  was  nothing  now  to  stop  these  marauders,  who 
overran  the  whole  country,  destroying  all  that  they  could 
not  carry  away,  and  killing  the  inhabitants,  or  leading  them 
off  to  sell  them  as  slaves.  Encouraged  by  success,  the 
Picts  and  Scots  came  into  Britain  again  and  again.  Each 
time  they  went  a  little  farther  south,  and  the  inhabitants 
fled  at  their  approach.  The  Britons  could  not  protect 
themselves  against  the  inroads  of  these  barbarians,  who 
were  not  much  more  civilized  than  the  Britons  had  been 
at  the  time  of  Caesar's  invasion ;  so  they  wTOte  a  pitiful 
letter  to  the  Roman  general  in  Gaul,  begging  him  to  come 
over  and  help  them.  This  letter  was  entitled  "  The  Groans 
of  the  Britons,"  and  ran  thus:  "The  barbarians  drive  us 
into  the  sea;  the  sea  throws  us  back  upon  the  swords  of 
the  barbarians  :  and  we  have  only  the  hard  choice  of  per- 
ishinsf  bv  the  sword  or  bv  the  waves." 

This  letter  reached  the  Roman  general  safely,  but  he 
could  not  help  the  Britons,  because  he  had  to  defend 
Gaul  against  At'ti-la,  the  "  Scourge  of  God,"  the  terrible 
king  of  the  Huns,  who  was  sweeping  all  over  Europe  with 
his  hordes  of  barbarians.  As  Rome  itself  was  threatened, 
the  Romans  could  not  spare  any  troops  to  help  the  Brit- 
ons, who,  as  you  will  soon  see,  were  thus  driven  to  seek 
help  elsewhere. 


29 


VII.  THE    GREAT    IRISH    SAINT. 

SHORTLY  after  the  Roman  legions  had  left  Britain, 
and  during  one  of  their  first  raids  over  the  wall  of 
Severus,  the  Picts  carried  off  into  captivity  a  boy  named 
Patrick,  who  was  then  about  sixteen  years  of  age.  He 
was  the  son  of  a  deacon,  and  was  busy  ploughing  when 
the  marauders  fell  upon  him. 

The  Picts,  after  taking  young  Patrick  back  to  their 
mountain  homes,  conveyed  him  over  the  Irish  Sea  to  Ire- 
land, where  they  sold  him  into  slavery.  For  six  years 
Patrick  was  obliged  to  watch  his  master's  sheep  on  the 
hillside,  and  during  that  time  he  often  prayed  that  he 
might  escape.  ^ 

Finally  his  prayers  were  answered,  and  after  hiding  for 
some  time  among  the  reeds  by  the  shore,  Patrick  boarded 
one  of  the  vessels  which  came  to  trade  along  the  coast. 
From  there  he  probably  went  to  France,  then  to  a  mon- 
astery near  the  Mediterranean,  and  then  to  Rome. 

He  studied  hard  to  become  a  priest;  and  when  he  was 
ordained,  he  went  back  to  Britain,  where  his  kinsmen  were 
glad  to  see  him.  While  there,  Patrick  was  troubled  by 
dreams  and  visions.  It  seemed  to  him  as  if  the  people  in 
Ireland,  or  Hi-ber'ni-a,  as  it  was  called  in  the  days  of  the 
Romans,  were  stretching  out  their  hands  to  him,  and  beg- 
ging him  to  come  over  to  them. 

At  times  he  fancied  that  he  heard  the  Irish  saying, 
"  We  pray  thee,  holy  youth,  to  come  and  henceforth  walk 
among  us."  The  result  was  that  Patrick,  either  by  the 
pope's   orders,  or  of  his   own   free   will,  finally  made  his 


30 

way  back  to  the  country  whence  he  had  escaped  as  a 
slave. 

With  a  few  followers,  he  landed  on  the  Irish  coast. 
Thence  he  made  his  way  on  foot  to  Meath,  where  a  pagan 
Irish  king  was  holding  a  great  festival.  It  was  the  custom, 
at  that  time,  that  no  fire  should  be  lighted  until  the  king 
had  given  the  signal  by  kindling  his.  But  Patrick,  not 
knowing  this,  and  stopping  to  keep  Easter  on  the  hill  of 
Slane,  made  a  bright  fire  there. 

When  its  light  was  seen,  the  Irish  king  sent  a  messen- 
ger to  Patrick,  bidding  him  come  and  explain  how  he  dared 
to  light  his  fire  before  the  king.  An  old  writer  tells  us 
that  Patrick  immediately  set  out  with  the  messenger,  but 
that,  as  he  went  along,  many  prodigies  took  place.  First, 
darkness  fell  upon  the  earth;  then  the  ground  shook  be- 
neath their  feet ;  and  when  some  of  the  Irish  magicians 
would  fain  have  stopped  Patrick,  they  were  seized  by 
invisible  hands  and  tossed  up  in  the  air. 

When  Patrick  appeared  before  the  angry  king,  he  began 
to  preach  to  him ;  and  such  was  this  missionary's  eloquence 
that  he  converted  not  only  the  ruler,  but  the  whole  clan. 
Journeying  about  from  place  to  place,  Patrick  is  said  to 
have  converted  all  Ireland,  to  have  baptized  more  than 
twenty  thousand  converts  with  his  own  hand,  and  to  have 
founded  more  than  three  hundred  churches. 

As  Patrick  Hved  so  long  ago,  and  as  no  record  was  kept 
of  his  life,  many  things  are  told  about  him  which  most 
people  do  not  now  believe  to  be  true.  Stories  are  told  of 
his  driving  all  the  snakes  out  of  Ireland  into  the  sea,  and 
of  his  working  many  other  miracles. 

The  only  thing  we  are  sure  of  is  that  he  converted  the 


31 

Irish  and  founded  churches  and  monasteries  in  the  island. 
In  the  monasteries  he  estabhshed  schools,  which  were 
visited  by  students  from  all  parts  of  the  world.  These 
men  became  missionaries,  preached  in  Scotland,  England, 
France,  Germany,  Switzerland,  and  Italy,  and  were  so 
enthusiastic  and  so  earnest  that  they  did  a  great  deal  of 
good. 

Thus  the  schools  founded  by  Patrick,  the  first  Bishop  of 
Ireland,  were  the  foremost  in  Europe  for  about  three  cen- 
turies. The  man  who  founded  them  is  now  called  Saint 
Patrick,  and  he  is  considered  the  patron  saint  of  the  island 
where  he  was,  in  turn,  slave,  priest,  and  saint.  His  birth- 
day, celebrated  on  the  17th  of  March,  is  one  of  the  great- 
est festivals  in  Ireland. 

o-d^^oo 


VIII.   THE    ANGLO-SAXONS. 

YOU  have  seen  how  the  poor  Britons  had  vainly  ap- 
pealed to  the  Roman  general  in  Gaul  to  come  and 
deliver  them  from  the  Picts  and  Scots,  who  were  ravaging 
the  whole  country  and  driving  them  into  the  sea.  When 
the  Britons  found  out  that  the  Romans  could  not  help 
them,  they  began  to  look  around  them  for  other  aid. 

In  the  days  of  the  Romans,  light  willow  barks,  covered 
with  skins,  had  sometimes  visited  the  shores  of  the  island. 
These  boats  carried  hardy  warriors,  w^ho  came  from  the 
shores  of  the  Baltic  Sea.  They  belonged  to  the  Teu-ton^ic, 
or  German,  race  —  a  race  never  subdued  by  the  Romans, 
who  were  then  masters  of  nearly  all  the  known  world. 

These  men  were  so  brave  that  Vor'ti-gern,  the  British 


32 

chief,  begged  some  of  them  to  come  over  to  Britain  and 
help  him  drive  back  the  Picts  and  Scots.  One  of  the 
Teutonic  tribes,  the  Jutes,  consented;  and  about  the  year 
449  a  whole  fleet  of  little  ships  came  dancing  o\er  the  sea, 
which  the  Teutons  called  the  "  Swan  Road,"  because  when 
winter  drew  near  they  often  watched  the  birds  flying  or 
swimming  southward  over  the  waters. 

The  leaders  of  the  Jutes,  it  is  said,  were  two  brothers, 
Hen'gist  and  Hor'sa,  the  descendants  of  Wo'den,  who  Mas 
the  principal  god  of  the  Teutonic  nations.  The  Jutes  were 
used  to  fighting,  and  helped  the  Britons  drive  back  the 
Picts  and  Scots.  The  marauders  were  forced  to  retreat  to 
the  other  side  of  the  walls,  which  were  repaired  and  pro- 
vided with  defenders. 

In  reward  for  their  services,  Vortigern  gave  the  Jutes 
the  island  of  Than'et ;  and  while  some  of  them  settled  down 
there  contentedly,  others  went  back  to  their  nati\e  coun- 
try to  tell  what  they  had  seen.  But,  as  Britain  was  much 
more  fertile  than  the  land  where  they  dwelt,  they  soon 
came  back,  with  their  families,  to  settle  in  it. 

The  Jutes  were  followed,  before  long,  by  another  Teu- 
tonic tribe,  the  Sax'ons.  As  there  was  not  room  enough 
for  them  all  in  the  island  of  Thanet,  the  Saxons  settled  on 
the  mainland,  where  they  were  joined  by  other  Saxons; 
and  their  numbers  multiplied  so  fast  that  they  soon  cov- 
ered much  territory. 

The  Britons  were  forced  to  retreat  before  the  new- 
comers ;  and  as  they  were  afraid  of  the  Picts  and  Scots, 
and  dared  not  cfo  north,  thev  withdrew  to  the  west,  where 
they  took  possession  of  Cornwall  and  Wales.  Now  that 
it  was  too  late,  Vortigern  saw  what  a  mistake  he  had  made 


33 

in  inviting  the  Jutes  to  come  over  and  help  him.  He  could 
not  quarrel  with  them,  however,  because  he  had  married 
Ro-we'na,  Hengist's  beautiful  young  daughter.  It  seems 
that  he  had  fallen  in  love  with  this  maiden  at  first  sight, 
when  she  came  to  offer  him  a  drink,  as  was  the  custom  in 
her  country  whenever  a  stranger  came  into  the  house. 

The  Jutes  and  Saxons  spread  farther  and  farther  over 
the  southern  part  of  Britain,  until  they  took  entire  pos- 
session of  Vortigern's  kingdom,  dri\-ing  him  far  into  the 
west,  where  he  died  of  grief.  After  the  Jutes  and  Saxons 
came  a  third  Teutonic  tribe,  the  An'gles,  who,  in  their 
turn,  settled  in  the  eastern  part  of  Britain. 

They  killed  all  the  natives  who  would  not  peaceably 
make  way  for  them,  sparing  only  the  women  and  children, 
whom  they  made  their  slaves.  But  the  Angles  were  not 
nearlv  so  civilized  as  the  Britons,  who  had  learned  much 
from  their  Roman  conquerors,  and  they  destroyed  many 
of  the  Roman  buildings,  which  they  were  too  ignorant  to 
admire. 

When  they  first  came  over  to  Britain,  the  Anglo-Sax- 
ons—  as  the  Angles  and  Saxons  are  often  called  for  short 
—  knew  nothing  at  all  about  Christianity,  and  brought  with 
them  their  own  language,  laws,  and  religion.  This  old 
Anglo-Saxon  religion  soon  gave  way  before  Christianity, 
as  vou  will  see  ;  but  the  names  of  the  heathen  orods  of  the 
Anglo-Saxons  are  still  found  in  our  names  of  the  days  of 
the  week.  Thus,  Sunday  was  the  day  of  the  sun  god; 
Monday,  of  the  moon  deity  ;  Tuesday  was  named  after 
Tin,  god  of  war:  Wednesday,  after  Woden,  their  principal 
divinity,  and  the  ancestor  of  their  kings ;  Thursday  took 
its  name  from  Thor,  god  of  thunder;  Friday,  from  Frea, 

STO.   OF    EXG.— 3 


34 

goddess  of  beauty ;  and  Saturday,  from  Sat'urn,  a  Roman 
divinity. 

But,  although  there  are  now  very  few  traces  left  of  the 
old  Teutonic  religion,  the  Anglo-Saxon  laws  and  language 
form  the  basis  of  the  present  English  laws  and  language, 
so  they  are  of  great  interest  to  the  one  hundred  and  fifty 
million  English-speaking  people  of  this  century. 


-<>0^:@400- 


IX.    BRAVE    KING    ARTHUR. 

THE  Angles,  in  the  course  of  time,  formed  three  king- 
doms in  Britain,  which  bore  the  names  of  An'gli-a, 
Mer^cia,  and  Nor-thum'bri-a.  But,  in  speaking  of  the 
territory  they  occupied,  they  so  often  said  that  it  was  the 
Angles'  land,  that  little  by  little  the  name  was  contracted 
into  "  England,"  and  after  the  tenth  century  the  whole 
country  was  known  by  this  name. 

The  Saxons  also  formed  three  kingdoms,  called  Es'sex, 
Wes'sex,  and  Sus'sex,  or  the  lands  of  the  East,  West,  and 
South  Saxons;  and  the  Jutes  took  possession  of  that  part 
of  England  which  goes  by  the  name  of  Kent.  You  see, 
the  Britons  had  very  little  space  left,  and  for  some  time 
they  could  not  resist  their  powerful  foes.  But  not  very 
long  after  Vortigern's  death,  they  were  ruled  by  Arthur, 
a  British  chief  whose  name  has  become  very  famous,  be- 
cause many  poets  have  written  about  him  and  about  his 
great  deeds. 

It  is  so  long  since  Arthur  lived  that  we  reall}^  know 
little  about  him  ;   but  we  are  told  that  he  fought  against 


35 

the  Saxons  and  defeated  them  in  twelve  great  battles. 
Brave  as  Arthur  was  in  war,  he  was  no  less  gentle  and 
courteous  in  peace,  and  the  Britons  were  so  proud  of  him 
that  they  were  never  tired  of  singing  his  praises. 

After  a  time  they  began  to  fancy  that  he  was  more 
than  a  man;  and  when  he  finally  fell  in  battle,  and  was 
buried  in  Glastonbury  (glahs'en-ber-y),  they  would  not 
believe  that  he  was  dead.  They  said  that  Arthur  could 
not  die,  and  that  when  he  fell,  sorely  wounded,  the  fairies 
carried  him  away  to  their  island  home  at  Av'a-lon,  to  make 
him  well. 

They  had  such  faith  in  Arthur  that  they  thought  he 
would  come  back,  some  day,  to  reign  over  all  Britain  and 
make  his  people  happy.  The  bards,  who  loved  to  sing 
about  Arthur,  fostered  this  belief;  and  we  are  told  that 
some  of  the  descendants  of  the  old  Britons,  the  Welsh,  as 
they  are  now  called,  still  believe  that  Arthur  will  come 
back  to  his  loving  people. 

After  Arthur's  death,  the  Britons  were  driven  still  far- 
ther away  from  their  former  homes,  and  some  of  them, 
crossing  the  sea,  went  to  settle  in  France,  in  a  province 
called  Brit'tan-y.  Here,  and  in  Wales,  the  old  Briton 
language  is  still  spoken  by  many  of  the  common  people, 
and  wonderful  stories  about  King  Arthur  are  still  told  by 
the  fireside. 

Many  years  later,  when  a  new  race  had  settled  in  Eng- 
land, stories  of  Arthur  were  told  in  everv  castle.  As  the 
warriors  then  wore  armour,  held  tournaments,  and  went 
about  to  deliver  the  oppressed,  they  im-agined  that  Arthur 
and  his  followers  used  to  do  the  same.  So  they  made  up 
long  tales  about  the  adventures  of  Arthur's  principal  com- 


36 

panions,  who,  they  said,  assembled  in  his  palace  at  Caer- 
leon  (car-le'on),  and  held  feasts  there,  sitting  at  a  round 
table.  Because  they  did  this,  they  were  called  the  Knights 
of  the  Round  Table,  and  poets  have  long  loved  to  write 
about  them.  One  of  the  last  great  poets  who  has  retold 
their  story  is  Tennyson,  whose  "  Idylls  of  the  King"  you 
will  read  with  great  delight. 


-o-0>^00- 


X.    THE    LAWS   OF    THE    SAXONS. 

THE  Anglo-Saxons,  having  terrified  the  Picts,  Scots, 
and  Britons,  so  that  they  no  longer  dared  come  into 
the  main  'part  of  the  island,  settled  down  quieth^  in  the 
kingdoms  they  had  founded.  As  there  were  generally 
seven  of  these  kingdoms,  they  are  known  as  the  Hep'- 
tarch-y,  or  the  Seven  Kingdoms. 

You  must  not  imagine,  however,  that  the  Anglo-Saxons 
entirely  gave  up  fighting,  for  they  often  quarrelled  and 
waged  war  against  one  another.  But  whenever  any  great 
danger  threatened  them,  the  Seven  Kingdoms  united  under 
the  command  of  the  bravest  of  their  kings,  who  was  given 
the  title  of  brct'iiHxl-da,  or  head  of  the  army.  Besides  the 
king,  there  were  the  earls,  noblemen  who  were  the  gov- 
ernors and  judges  of  certain  provinces ;  the  thanes,  who 
served  the  king;  the  churls,  who  were  the  farmers;  and, 
the  lowest  and  largest  class  of  all,  the  slaves,  or  serfs. 

The  people  believed  that  the  Anglo-Saxon  kings  all 
belonged  to  the  race  of  Woden,  but  the  crowm  did  not 
always  pass  from  a  father  to  his  eldest  son,  as  it  does  now. 


37 

Whenever  a  king  died,  the  principal  men  of  the  tribe  as- 
sembled in  a  council  which  was  called  the  Wit'e~na- ge- 
mot, or  assembly  of  wise  men.  Here  they  talked  the 
matter  over  and  elected  a  new  king,  who  could  reign  only 
by  consent  of  the  people.  The  Witenagemot  also  met 
two  or  three  times  a  year,  to  decide  what  had  best  be  done, 
and  what  new  laws  should  be  made,  or  to  judge  any  case 
which  could  not  be  settled  by  the  earls. 

Most  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  punishments  were  by  fines,  a 
larger  sum  being  asked  for  the  murder  of  an  earl  than  for 
that  of  a  churl,  and  the  killing  of  a  hprse  or  a  cow  being 
rated  higher  than  that  of  a  slave.  Each  earl  had  a  sort  of 
court  over  which  he  presided,  and  wdien  a  man  was  ac- 
cused of  a  crime,  he  could  prove  his  innocence  either  by 
getting  ten  men  of  his  own  class  to  swear  he  had  not  done 
wrong,  or  by  submitting  to  an  ordeal. 

Now,  as  you  probably  do  not  know  what  an  ordeal  was, 
I  must  explain  to  you  that  it  was  a  test  of  some  kind. 
For  instance,  there  was  the  ordeal  by  water,  in  which  the 
accused  was  forced  to  plunge  his  hand  into  boiling  w^ater. 
If,  at  the  end  of  a  certain  number  of  days,  his  burns  were 
healed,  he  was  said  to  be  guiltless ;  but  if  they  were  not 
well,  he  was  condemned  as  guilty.  Sometimes  the  ac- 
cused had  to  pick  up  a  bar  of  iron  heated  red-hot,  or  had 
to  walk  blindfolded  over  nine  heated  ploughshares,  or  to 
plunge  his  hand  or  foot  into  boiling  oil  or  pitch.  Of  course, 
we  know  that  it  w^as  impossible  by  this  plan  to  find  out 
whether  a  man  was  innocent  or  guilty  ;  but  the  Anglo- 
Saxons  fancied  that  God  would  plainly  show  them  who 
was  right  and  who  was  wrong. 

In  these  trials  by  ordeal,  if  the  accused  was  a  friend  of 


38 

the  executioner,  or  if  he  had  given  him  a  present,  the  iron, 
water,  or  oil  was  not  heated  so  hot  as  when  the  accused 
was  an  enemy,  or  even  a  stranger.  So  while  some  of  the 
old  Anglo-Saxon  laws  have  proved  worthy  of  being  pre- 
served, no  one  can  regret  that  the  trial  by  ordeal  has  been 
long  ago  given  up. 

XI.  THE   STORY    OF    ST.  AUGUSTINE. 

THE  Anglo-Saxons  had  been  masters  of  England  for 
many  years,  when  Eth'el-bert,  the  third  bretwalda, 
married  a  French  princess.  Bertha,  who  was  a  Christian. 

In  the  wars  between  the  various  Anglo-Saxon  kingdoms, 
many  captives  were  taken,  'and  these  were  often  sold  as 
slaves.  Besides  this,  many  poor  men  were  compelled  by 
their  hunger  to  sell  themselves  and  their  wives  and  chil- 
dren into  slavery. 

We  are  told  that  some  English  boys  were  brought  to 
Rome  by  the  slave  merchants,  and  exposed  there  for  sale 
on  the  market  place.  A  monk  named  Greg'o-ry,  who  was 
passing  by,  stopped  to  look  at  them.  Struck  by  the  blue 
eyes,  golden  hair,  and  fair  complexion  of  these  children, 
he  asked  the  merchant  who  they  were.  The  man  answered 
that  they  were  Angles  and  heathens. 

''Oh,"  cried  the  monk,  ''they  would  be  indeed  not 
Angli  (Angles),  but  angeli  (angels),  if  they  were  only 
Christians! " 

This  monk  was  so  pleased,  either  by  his  own  pun  or  by 
the  good  looks  of  the  young  slaves,  that  he  wanted  to  go 
to  Britain  without  delay  ;  but  his  friends  would  not  let  him. 


39 

He  did  not  forget  the  Angles,  however;  and  when  he  be- 
came pope,  soon  after,  he  sent  Au'gus-tine  and  forty  other 
monks  to  preach  the  gospel  to  the  Angles,  or  English. 

Augustine  travelled  through  Gaul,  where  he  got  some 
men  who  could  act  as  interpreters,  and  then  landed  on  the 
island  of  Thanet,  on  the  coast  of  England.  From  here,  he 
sent  a  message  to  Ethelbert,  begging  for  an  interview,  and 
asking  permission  to  preach  to  the  people.  As  Bertha 
was  a  Christian,  she  coaxed  her  husband  to  receive  Augus- 
tine ;  but  the  pagan  king  was  so  afraid  the  monk  would  try 
to  influence  him  by  magic,  that  he  would  not  receive  him 
indoors,  and  sat  under  an  oak,  fancying  that  so  holy  a  tree 
would  protect  him  from  all  evil  spells. 

Augustine  now  advanced  with  his  forty  monks,  and 
showed  Ethelbert  a  picture  of  Christ.  Then  he  preached 
to  the  king  to  such  good  purpose  that  he  consented  to  be 
baptized.  Of  course  all  his  court  followed  his  example, 
and  we  are  told  that  on  Pentecost  day  ten  thousand  Anglo- 
Saxons  were  converted,  and  that  the  Christian  religion 
soon  took  the  place  of  the  worship  of  Woden  all  through 
England. 

Churches  were  built  in  different  parts  of  the  country, 
the  greatest  being  the  Cathedral  of  Can'ter-bur-y,  of 
which  Augustine  was  the  first  bishop.  There  is  nothing 
left  of  this  old  building,  but  the  famous  Cathedral  of 
Canterbury  (p.  40)  stands  on  the  very  spot  that  it  once 
occupied.  Churches  were  also  built,  at  this  time,  in  Lon- 
don, on  the  sites  of  West'min-ster  Abbey  and  St.  Paul's 
Cathedral ;  and  when  we  enter  these  buildings,  we  like  to 
think  that  Christians  have  worshipped  on  these  spots 
nearly  thirteen  hundred  years. 


40 


In  a  very  short  time,  the  monks  Gregory  had  sent 
visited  all  the  different  parts  of  England,  and  founded 
churches  and  monasteries,  where  many  students  came  to 
learn  all  that  the  monks  could  teach  them.      Most  of  the 


Canterbury  Cathedral. 


monks'  books  were  written  in  Latin,  so  all  the  students 
learned  to  read  and  write  in  that  lantruai^e,  rather  than  in 
their  own.  As  it  had  not  seemed  best  to  the  priests  that 
prayers  should  be  translated  into  English,  the  church  ser- 
vices were  also  held  in  Latin,  a  language  which  the  com- 
mon people  did  not  understand. 


41 


XII.    THREE    GREAT    MEN. 

YOU  liave  heard  how  Augustine  came  over  to  England 
to  convert  the  Anglo-Saxons.  After  his  death  he 
was  made  a  saint,  and  he  is  the  missionary  of  England, 
just  as  St.  Patrick  is  the  missionary  of  Ireland.  There 
were  many  good  men  in  the  monasteries  which  were 
founded  in  England,  and  a  few  of  them  are  still  famous. 

There  was,  for  instance,  a  monk  named  Gil'das,  who 
wrote  a  Latin  history,  in  which  he  tells  us  a  2:reat  deal 
about  olden  times  in  England.  Copies  of  this  book  have 
been  preserved,  and  it  has  been  translated  into  English. 

In  the  nunneries  of  the  seventh  century,  the  nuns  and 
their  servants  used  to  spend  the  long  winter  evenmgs 
around  the  fire,  telling  tales  and  singing  songs.  In  one 
nunnery  there  was  a  poor  servant  named  Caedmon  (ked''- 
mon),  who  was  greatly  embarrassed  when  his  turn  came. 
He  had  nothing  to  say,  and  felt  so  ashamed  that  he  went 
out  into  the  stable  and  wept.  While  he  was  there  one  even- 
ing, he  heard  a  voice  which  bade  him  sing.  First  he  an- 
swered that  he  could  not ;  but  when  the  command  was 
repeated,  he  inquired,  ''What  shall  I  sing?"  "Sing  the 
beginning  of  created  things,"  answered  the  voice.  So 
Caedmon,  who  had  often  heard  the  nuns  tell  about  the 
creation,  began  to  sing,  and,  to  his  surprise,  he  found  that 
he  was  reciting  a  wonderful  poem. 

We  are  told  that  Hilda,  the  abbess  of  the  nunnery, 
encouraged  Casdmon  to  compose  more  verse,  and  that  his 
poem,  the  first  in  English,  gave  Milton,  one  of  our  greatest 
geniuses,  the  idea  of  writing  "  Paradise  Lost.'"* 


42 

The  first  English  prose  was  written,  nearly  one  hundred 
years  after  Caedmon's  poem,  by  the  Venerable  Bede.  He 
translated  one  of  the  Gospels  into  English.  He  was  very 
old,  and  when  his  great  work  was  nearly  finished,  feeling 
that  he  was  about  to  die,  he  bade  his  disciple  hurry  and 
write  down  the  end  of  the  translation. 

"  There  is  still  one  chapter  wanting,  Master,"  said  the 
scribe;  '*  it  is  hard  for  thee  to  think  and  to  speak." 
"  It  must  be  done,"  said  Bede.      **  Write  quickly!" 
The  work  went  on,  but  the  master  grew  weaker  and 
weaker;  and  when  night  was  coming  on,  the  scribe  said: 
"There  is  yet  one  sentence  to  write,  dear  Master." 
Once  more  the  master  roused  himself  to  dictate  the  last 
words,  and  a  few  moments  later  the  scribe  exclaimed :  **  It 
is  finished!"     **  Thou  sayest  truth,"  replied  the  weary  old 
man  ;  "  it  is  finished  ;  all  is  finished !  "     And,  sinking  back 
upon  his  pillow,  he  died,  leaving  us  the  first  English  trans- 
lation of  one  of  the  books  of  the  Bible. 


-<K5>g>4c 


XIII.   THE    DANISH    PIRATES. 

ABOUT  four  hundred  years  after  the  Anglo-Saxons 
y\  first  came  to  settle  in  Britain,  other  men  from  the 
north  began  to  appear  on  their  coasts.  These,  too,  made 
part  of  the  great  Teutonic  race,  and  came  from  the  shores 
of  the  Baltic  Sea ;  but  they  were  far  less  civilized  than  the 
Anglo-Saxons,  and  still  worshipped  heathen  gods. 

Their  main  object  was   to  plunder,  and,  landing  from 
their  skiffs,  they  would  attack  the  peaceful  An^lo-Saxor, 


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44 

villages,  and  destroy  all  the  property  which  they  did  not 
carry  away.  They  came  when  least  expected,  and  some- 
times sailed  off  with  their  plunder  before  the  terrified  inliab- 
itants  could  arm  to  resist  them.  These  pirates  were  called, 
from  their  nationality,  Danes  or  Northmen ;  and,  from  the 
bays  where  their  ships  sought  shelter,  vik'ings  or  bay-men. 

The  Northmen  not  only  ravaged  the  coasts  of  England, 
Scotland,  and  Ireland  from  the  seventh  to  the  tenth  cen- 
tury, but  they  also  visited  the  coasts  of  the  Continent. 
Such  was  the  terror  they  inspired  in  England  that  a  sen- 
tence was  added  to  the  Litany,  and  the  people  daily  prayed, 
"  From  the  fury  of  the  Northmen,  good  Lord,  deliver  us." 

Some  of  the  chiefs  of  the  Northmen  were  so  brave  and 
daring  that  their  names  have  come  down  to  us  in  history. 
One  of  the  best-known  among  them  is  Rag'nar  Lod'brog, 
a  Danish  king  who  invaded  England  in  the  days  when 
yEl'la  was  head  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  Heptarchy. 

When  Ragnar's  fleet  appeared,  with  the  big  vessels  called 
"  dragons  "  and  the  little  ones  "snails,"  the  people  fled; 
but  JEWa.  promptly  assembled  a  large  army  to  repulse  the 
enemy.  The  two  forces  met  in  a  bloody  battle,  in  which 
Ragnar  was  defeated  and  fell  into  the  hands  of  his  enemies. 

To  punish  the  captive  king  for  all  the  harm  he  had  done 
to  the  English,  yElla  thrust  him  into  a  pit  filled  with  venom- 
ous serpents,  which  crawled  all  over  him  and  bit  him  to 
death.  But  even  while  the  serpents  were  torturing  him, 
Ragnar  remained  calm  and  showed  no  fear. 

As  his  hands  were  tied,  and  he  could  not  use  them  to 
play  on  his  harp,  which  had  been  flung  into  the  pit  after 
him,  we  are  told  that  the  dauntless  old  Northman  began  to 
play  upon  it  with  his  toes.     Then,  to  show  the  English 


45 

how  little  he  cared  for  their  tortures,  he  began  a  song,  in 
which  he  boasted  how  bravely  he  had  fought,  how  many 
foes  he  had  slain,  and  how  he  scorned  his  conquerors. 

Singing  thus,  he  died  ;  but  his  death  did  not  put  an  end 
to  the  Northmen's  raids,  for  Ragnar's  sons  came  over  to 
England  to  avenge  him.  They  captured  King  yElla  in 
battle,  sacrificed  him  on  one  of  the  heathen  altar-stones, 
and  took  possession  of  a  large  part  of  the  country. 

For  many  years  after  the  death  of  yElla,  the  Saxons  and 
the  Danes  were  always  at  war ;  and  as  more  and  more  of 
these  Northmen  came  over  the  sea,  they  took  up  more  and 
more  room.  The  part  of  the  land  occupied  by  the  Danes 
was  called  the  Dane'lagh,  and  the  Saxon  kings,  weary  of 
fighting,  sometimes  bribed  them  to  keep  peace.  But,  as 
the  Danes  delighted  in  warfare,  the  truce  never  lasted 
long,  and  bloodshed  and  destruction  were  soon  renewed. 

In  these  w^ars  the  Danes  not  only  burned  the  wooden 
houses  of  the  Saxons,  but  they  also  ruined  the  stone 
churches,  which  had  been  built  at  ""reat  cost  bv  workmen 
brought  from  the  Continent.  These  churches  were  deco- 
rated with  beautiful  paintings,  and  some  of  them  even 
had  stained-glass  windows,  which  were  then  very  rare. 

The  Danes  destroved  these  beautiful  buildinfjs  because 
they  hated  the  Christian  religion,  and  because  they  wanted 
to  secure  the  gold  and  silver  vessels  used  for  mass,  and 
the  large  sums  of  money  often  kept  in  the  churches.  This 
money  was  collected  by  the  priests,  who  always  accepted 
all  the  gifts  ^-he  people  brought  them,  and  claimed,  be- 
sides, one  penny  from  each  household.  As  the  money  was 
sent  to  the  pope  to  help  build  the  beautiful  church  of  St. 
Peter's  in  Rome,  the  tax  has  been  called  "  Peter's  pence." 


46 

King  Eth'el-wulf,  who  first  gave  the  priests  permission 
to  collect  Peter's  pence  in  his  realm,  was  so  pious  a  king 
that  he  made  several  journeys  to  Rome  to  visit  the  pope. 
Once  he  took  with  him  his  youngest  son,  Alfred,  a  prince 
who  lived  to  be  one  of  the  most  remarkable  kings  the 
world  has  ever  seen. 


-o-oJ^OO- 


XIV.    KING    ALFRED   AND    THE    CAKES. 

IIKE  all  the  Saxon  youths  of  his  time,  Alfred  soon 
l_j  learned  how  to  handle  the  arms  of  a  soldier,  but  he 
knew  nothing  of  what  even  the  smallest  children  now 
learn  in  school.  One  day,  when  he  was  twelve  years  old, 
he  and  his  brothers  noticed  that  the  queen  was  reading  a 
book  of  Saxon  poetry.  You  must  not  imagine  that  this 
book  was  a  printed  work,  like  those  we  have  now.  It  was 
carefully  written  on  parchment,  or  sheepskin,  which  was 
then  used  instead  of  paper,  and  the  initial  letters  were 
painted  in  bright  colours  and  surrounded  by  fancy  designs. 

Written  books  are  called  manuscripts,  and  as  soon  as 
the  young  princes  caught  sight  of  this  illuminated,  or 
painted,  manuscript,  they  crowded  around  their  mother  to 
see  and  admire  it.  The  queen,  who  was  much  more 
learned  than  many  women  of  her  time,  told  them  it  con- 
tained delightful  stories,  and  promised  that  she  would  make 
a  present  of  it  to  the  first  who  could  read  it  to  her. 

You  may  not  tliink  that  this  was  a  very  great  reward, 
as  you  can  get  a  gaily  painted  book  for  a  few  pennies  ;  but 
books  in  those  days  were  so  costly  that  they  were  worth 
more  than  a  large  farm. 


47 

Alfred  was  so  anxious  to  win  the  prize,  and  especially 
to  know  what  the  book  could  tell  him,  that  he  lost  no  time 
in  seeking  a  teacher  and  in  beginning  to  learn  to  read.  In 
those  days,  when  there  were  no  primers  or  readers,  often 
no  division  between  the  words,  and  very  little  punctuation, 
it  was  much  harder  to  learn  how  to  read  than  it  is  now. 

But  Alfred  was  the  kind  of  boy  that  would  not  give  up  ; 
and  although  no  one  forced  him  to  go  to  school,  he  kept 
at  his  self-appointed  task,  and  tried  so  hard  that  he  soon 
learned  how  to  read.  Then  he  went  to  his  mother  with 
the  manuscript,  and  not  only  read,  but  also  recited,  the 
greater  part  of  the  poems  it  contained ;  and  she  was  so 
delighted  that  she  gladly  gave  him  his  hard-earned  prize. 

Having  learned  a  little,  Alfred  was  now  eager  to  know 
more  ;  and,  hearing  that  nearly  all  manuscripts  were  written 
in  Greek  or  Latin,  he  learned  both  languages,  although  he 
had  no  grammars,  or  dictionaries,  or  easy  books  such  as 
you  have  now. 

King  Ethelwulf  wanted  Alfred  to  be  king  in  his  place 
when  he  died ;  but  the  Witenagemot  decided  that  the 
three  elder  princes  should  reign  first.  These  rulers  were 
obliged  to  war  against  the  Danes,  who  w^ould  not  stay 
in  the  Danelagh  ;  and  we  are  told  that  Alfred  laid  aside 
his  books  and  helped  tliem  fight  eight  battles  in  one  year. 

In  spite  of  all  this,  the  Danes  spread  farther  and  farther ; 
and  when  Alfred  became  King  of  England,  at  the  age  of 
twenty-two,  he  found  he  had  very  little  land  lef-t.  Be- 
sides that,  the  Danes  had  destroyed  so  much  property  that 
all  the  Saxons  were  very  poor.  Even  the  king  had  hardly 
enough  to  eat ;  but  Alfred  was  as  generous  as  he  was 
poor,  and  when  one  of  his  subjects  once  came  to  beg  at 


48 


his  door,  he  bade  his  wife  give  the  man  half  of  the  last 
loaf  of  bread  in  the  house. 

The  Danes  grew  so  bold  that  the  king  was  forced,  at 
one  time,  to  assume  a  disguise  and  take  refuge  in  the  hut 
of  a  poor  herdsman.  Although  these  poor  people  had  no 
idea  that  the  wanderer  was  the  king,  they  asked  him  to 
come  into  tlieir  little  house,  and  gave  him  a  seat  near  the 
fire.    All  the  Saxons  were  noted  for  being  good  to  strangers, 


Sir  David  Wilkie,  Artist. 


King  Alfred  in  the  Herdsman's  Cottage. 

and  they  would  have  considered  it  very  wrong  not  to  treat 
them  as  well  as  they  could. 

One  day  Alfred  was  sitting  near  the  fire,  either  mend- 
ing his  bow  and  thinking  how  he  could  drive  the  Danes 
out  of  the  realm,  or  reading  a  book  which  he  had  hidden 
in  the  bosom  of  his  dress.  The  herdsman's  wife,  who  was 
baking  flat  cakes  of  bread  on  the  hearthstone,  bgjde  her 
guest  watch  and  turn  them  while  she  was  busy  ersewhere. 


49 

Alfred,  thinking  of  more  important  matters,  forgot  all 
about  the  cakes,  and  let  them  burn.  When  the  woman 
came  back,  she  was  angry  with  the  king,  and  scolded  him 
roundly,  saying  that,  although  he  was  too  lazy  to  turn  the 
cakes,  he  was  ready  enough  to  eat  them. 

Instead  of  punishing  the  woman  for  speaking  so  to  him, 
Alfred  said  he  was  sorry  to  have  let  the  cakes  burn,  and 
promised  to  do  better  another  time.  You  see,  although 
he  was  a  king,  he  was  not  afraid  to  acknowledge  that  he 
had  done  wrong ;  and  we  are  told  that  the  next  time  the 
woman  bade  him  watch  her  cakes,  he  did  it  very  well. 


0-0>St^OO 

XV.    ALFRED    CONQUERS    THE    DANES. 

SHORTLY  after  this  accident  with  the  cakes,  Alfred 
went  to  join  his  followers  in  a  fortified  camp  in  the 
centre  of  a  swamp.  Here  he  made  a  bold  plan  to  conquer 
the  Danes.  Before  he  could  carry  it  out,  however,  he  had 
to  know  just  how  many  Danes  he  should  have  to  fight, 
where  their  camp  was  situated,  how  it  was  guarded,  and 
where  the  general's  tent  stood. 

To  find  out  these  things,  Alfred  disguised  himself  as  a 
bard,  took  his  harp,  and  walked  boldly  into  the  Danish 
camp.  The  soldiers  were  glad  to  see  a  bard,  and,  gather- 
ing around  him,  called  for  song  after  song. 

Alfred  now  sang  and  told  them  all  the  stories  he  knew ; 
and  as  he  sang  and  played  on  his  harp,  he  glanced  around 
him  and  noticed  the  number  of  men.  The  soldiers  were 
so  pleased  with  Alfred's  songs  and  jests  that  they  led  him 

STO.   OF    EXG.— 4 


50 

to  their  general,  Guth'rum,  who,  after  hearing  him  sing 
and  play,  gave  him  some  gold  and  praised  his  skill. 

Alfred  tarried  in  the  Danish  camp  a  few  days,  and 
made  such  good  use  of  his  eyes  and  ears  that  he  found 
out  enough  to  enable  him  to  win  a  great  victory  over 
the  Danes  at  Eth-an-dun'.  He  then  signed  the  treaty  of 
Wed'more  with  them,  and  gave  them  their  choice,  either  to 
become  Christians  and  keep  the  peace,  or  to  leave  England. 

Most  of  the  Danes  preferred  to  stay,  but  a  few  of  them 
joined  a  pirate  chief  named  Has'tings,  and  a  few  years 
later  they  came  back  with  him,  to  try  to  recover  their  lost 
ground.  But  Alfred  again  managed  to  defeat  them,  and 
made  them  promise  to  stay  in  the  Danelagh,  the  part  of 
the  country  which  he  said  they  might  occupy.  After 
this,  the  Danes  lived  on  the  northeast  side  of  Wattling 
Street,  —  one  of  the  old  Roman  roads  which  ran  from  Dover 
to  Chester,  passing  through  London, — while  the  Anglo- 
Saxons  occupied  the  land  on  the  other  side  of  it. 

To  frighten  away  the  pirate  Danes,  and  keep  the  Picts 
and  Scots  in  order,  Alfred  built  ships,  and  once  a  year 
he  sailed  all  around  the  islands,  to  see  that  all  was  well. 
This  is  considered  the  beginning  of  the  English  navy,  and 
by  the  time  you  have  finished  reading  this  book,  you  will 
see  that  England  owes  much  of  her  prosperity  to  her  fleet, 
and  that  she  is  justly  known  as  the  "  Queen  of  the  Sea." 

The  beginning  of  King  Alfred's  reign  was  mostly  taken 
up  in  fighting;  but  when  he  had  made  peace  with  the 
Danes,  he  began  to  think  how  he  could  best  help  his  peo- 
ple. To  make  the  best  use  of  his  time,  Alfred  divided  his 
days  into  three  equal  parts :  one  for  sleeping,  eating,  and 
amusement;  one  for  business;  and  one  for  study. 


51 

As  there  were  no  clocks  in  King  Alfred's  day,  and  as 
the  sundials  marked  time  only  when  the  sun  shone,  Alfred 
had  candles  made  of  such  size  and  thickness  that  they 
would  burn  a  certain  length  of  time.  These  candles  were 
notched  to  divide  the  day  into  equal  periods.  But  the 
king  soon  noticed  that  the  candles  burned  unevenly,  owing 
to  draughts.  When  you  hear  that  glass  was  used  only  in 
a  few  churches,  and  that  the  palace  windows  were  closed 
only  by  rude  wooden  shutters,  you  can  readily  understand 
that  there  were  many  draughts,  and  that  when  the  wind 
blew  the  candles  flickered,  went  out,  or  burned  too  fast. 
To  prevent  this.  King  Alfred  had  boxes  made  of  thin 
pieces  of  horn,  in  which  to  place  the  candles ;  so  he  may 
fairlv  be  considered  the  inventor  of  the  first  lantern. 

The  time  which  Alfred  spent  in  study  was  devoted  in 
part  to  framing  wise  laws  for  his  people ;  and  we  are  told 
that  he  executed  justice  so  carefully  that  no  one  dared 
steal  in  all  his  realm.  It  is  even  said  that  golden  bracelets 
hung  on  a  tree  in  a  lonely  spot  for  more  than  a  year,  and, 
although  there  was  no  one  near  to  guard  them,  no  thief 
ventured  to  lay  a  finger  upon  them. 

King  Alfred  not  only  made  good  laws  for  his  people, 
but  he  established  the  first  real  schools  in  England.  As 
there  were  no  books  in  Anglo-Saxon,  Alfred  patiently 
translated  many  of  the  Greek  and  Latin  works  into  his 
own  lansfuao-e.  He  encouras^ed  teachers  to  come  and  settle 
in  his  kingdom,  and  bought  many  manuscripts.  We  are 
told  that  he  once  gave  a  whole  estate  for  a  work  on  geog- 
raphy—  a  work  which  was  considered  wonderful  then, 
although  it  gave  far  less  information  on  the  subject  than 
the  poorest  and  cheapest  book  printed  in  our  day. 


52 

In  Alfred's  time,  people  studied  languages  more  than 
anything  else.  There  was,  indeed,  little  else  to  study. 
Science  and  history  were  sadly  neglected.  In  arithmetic, 
only  Roman  numbers  were  used,  so  even  learned  men 
found  it  hard  to  work  out  simple  sums,  and  said  that  the 
study  was  beyond  human  understanding!  But  when 
Ar'a-bic  numbers  were  introduced,  in  the  twelfth  century, 
arithmetic  became  much  easier — so  much  easier  that  to- 
day children  in  the  primary  department  can  do  sums  that 
would  have  been  almost  impossible  to  the  simple  wise  men 
of  the  ninth  century. 

You  must  not  think,  however,  that  the  Saxons  worked 
all  the  time.  They  liked  to  play,  and  when  they  could 
not  run,  or  jump,  or  practise  archery  (shooting  with  a  bow 
and  arrow)  outdoors,  they  sat  by  the  fire,  told  stories, 
and  sometimes  played  chess  or  backgammon. 

King  Alfred  is  rem.embered  not  only  as  a  good  general, 
a  wise  ruler,  and  a  learned  man ;  he  is  famous  also  for  his 
patience,  his  perseverance,  and  most  of  all  for  his  noble 
and  truthful  character.  This  is  so  well  known  that  he  is 
generally  called  Alfred  the  Great,  or  Alfred  the  Truth- 
teller.  Although  he  always  worked  very  hard,  he  was 
not  strong,  and  after  suffering  for  years  from  a  terrible 
disease  which  none  of  the  doctors  of  his  time  could  cure, 
he  died  in  the  year  901.  Just  before  he  breathed  his  last, 
King  Alfred  said :  "  This  I  can  now  truly  say :  that  so 
long  as  I  have  lived,  I  have  striven  to  live  worthily,  and 
after  my  death  to  leave  my  memory  to  my  descendants  in 
good  works." 

It  is  because  Alfred  lived  worthily  that  he  has  always 
been  honoured  as  England's  greatest  king;    and  all  the 


53 

English-speaking  race  has  reason  to  respect  the  man  who, 
among  many  other  benefits,  translated  all  the  gospels  into 
the  Anglo-Saxon  language  for  his  people's  use. 


0-0^:^00 

XVI.    A    KING'S    NARROW    ESCAPE. 

KING  ALFRED  was  buried  in  Win'ches-ter,  and  his 
son  Edward,' called  the  Elder  to  distinguish  him  from 
other  kings  of  the  same  name  who  came  after  him,  reigned 
in  his  place.  The  new  king  was  busy,  during  the  greater 
part  of  his  reign  of  tw^enty-five  years,  in  fighting  the  Danes, 
who  wanted  to  invade  his  territory. 

Edward  the  Elder  was  followed  bv  his  son  Ath^el-stan 
the  Glorious,  who  also  had  to  struggle  with  the  invaders. 
The  Danes  then  had  a  verv  clever  voung^  leader  named 
An'laf.  He  fancied  that  if  he  could  get  into  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  camp,  as  Alfred  had  once  made  his  way  into  the 
camp  of  the  Danes,  he  would  be  able  to  find  out  just 
where  Athelstan  slept,  and  could  come  again  with  his  army 
to  murder  the  king  in  his  sleep. 

Disguised  as  a  bard,  so  the  story  runs,  Anlaf  went  into 
the  English  camp,  where  he  was  not  recognized,  and  where 
he  played  so  well  that  Athelstan  gave  him  a  piece  of 
money.  Now  the  young  Dane  hated  Athelstan,  and  was 
so  proud  that  he  took  the  money  only  so  that  the  king 
should  not  suspect  who  he  really  was.  But  as  soon  as  he 
got  out  of  the  camp,  he  forgot  all  caution,  and,  digging  a 
hole  in  the  ground,  buried  the  coin  his  enemy  had  given 
him. 


54 

One  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  soldiers,  who  had  once  served 
Anlaf,  saw  him  bury  the  money,  and  recognized  him.  After 
watching  him  out  of  sight,  this  soldier  told  Athelstan  all 
he  had  seen.  But  when  the  king  angrily  inquired  why  he 
had  not  spoken  sooner,  so  that  the  Danish  leader  could 
have  been  captured,  he  answered:  "I  once  served  Anlaf 
as  faithfully  as  I  am  now  serving  you.  If  I  betrayed  him, 
you  could  not  trust  me  not  to  betray  you.  But  now  you 
know  your  danger,  and  I  advise  you  to  change  the  place 
of  your  tent,  lest  he  should  come  and  attack  you  when 
you  do  not  expect  him," 

King  Athelstan  followed  the  soldier's  advice,  and  it  was 
well  that  he  did  so;  for  that  very  night  Anlaf  broke  into 
the  camp,  and,  rushing  straight  to  what  he  took  for  the 
king's  tent,  he  killed  a  bishop  who  happened  to  be  sleeping 
there. 

The  Saxons  fought  all  that  night  and  the  next  day,  so 
this  encounter  is  often  called  the  Long  Battle,  as  well  as 
the  battle  of  Bru'nan-burgh.  As  Athelstan  won  the  vic- 
tory, the  Danes  left  him  thenceforth  in  peace. 

Like  Alfred,  Athelstan  was  anxious  that  his  people 
should  learn  as  much  as  possible,  so  he  had  the  whole  of 
the  Scriptures  translated  for  them  into  Anglo-Saxon.  He 
also  encouraged  commerce,  and  said  that  every  merchant 
who  made  three  journeys  to  the  Mediterranean  should 
receive  the  title  of  thane,  or  nobleman.  It  was  no  easy 
matter  to  travel  in  the  tenth  century,  but  the  hope  of 
winning  this  title  induced  many  merchants  to  make  these 
long  and  dangerous  trips ;  and  every  time  they  came  home 
they  brought  new  things  and  new  ideas  to  benefit  the 
Anglo-Saxon  people. 


55 


XVII.    THE    KING   AND    THE    OUTLAW. 

ATHELSTAN  left  no  children,  so  he  was  succeeded  by 
/\  his  young  brother  Edmund,  who  is  surnamed  the 
Magnificent.  This  prince  was  only  eighteen  when  he  came 
to  the  throne,  but  he  was  very  brave.  He  conquered  the 
province  of  Cum'bri-a,  and  gave  it  to  Malcolm  I.,  King  of 
Scotland. 

Edmund  also  defeated  the  Danes,  who  had  risen  up 
against  him,  and  he  might  have  done  much  more  for  his 
people  had  he  not  come  to  a  very  sudden  death  in  rather 
a  strange  way.  It  seems  that  he  had  given  strict  orders 
that  all  robbers  should  be  driven  out  of  the  country.  A 
noted  outlaw,  notwithstanding  this  command,  once  entered 
the  king's  hall  and  boldly  sat  down  at  his  table.  Angry  at 
this  impudence,  Edmund  sternly  ordered  the  man  to  go 
out.  The  robber  insolently  refused  to  obey,  and  when 
the  king's  cupbearer  tried  to  turn  him  out  by  force,  he 
began  to  resist.  Then,  before  any  one  else  could  interfere, 
Edmund  sprang  up  from  his  seat  and  tried  to  fling  the  in- 
truder out  of  the  house. 

In  the  scuffle  that  ensued,  the  thief  stabbed  the  king. 
The  latter  fell,  and  the  people  attacked  the  robber,  who, 
leaning  against  the  wall,  fought  with  the  courage  of  de- 
spair, until  he  was  overpowered  and  killed. 

Edmund  was  only  twenty-four  when  he  died,  and  as  his 
children  were  babies,  the  Witenagemot  chose  his  brother 
Ed'red  for  their  next  king.  This  prince  soon  had  his 
hands  full ;  for  when  the  Danes  heard  that  Edmund  was 
dead,  they  again  rose  up  against  the  Saxons.      After  de- 


56 

feating  them,  Edred  decided  that  they  should  no  longer 
be  ruled  by  one  of  their  own  princes,  but  by  an  English 
governor  who  would  keep  them  in  order. 

Edred  was  so  young  when  he  began  to  reign,  that  he 
generally  followed  the  advice  of  a  very  clever  priest  called 
Dun'stan.  While  Dunstan  was  only  a  man  like  his  fellow- 
men,  he  was  unusually  clever  and  able ;  so  the  common 
people  fancied  that  he  was  gifted  with  powers  more  than 
human,  and  told  strange  stories  about  him. 

They  said  that  when  he  was  only  a  boy  Dunstan  had 
already  shown  that  he  was  not  an  ordinary  child,  and  in 
proof  of  it  they  whispered  that  he  walked  in  his  sleep !  Of 
course,  we  know  that  when  a  person  is  unable  to  sleep 
soundly  and  quietly,  it  is  only  a  sign  that  he  is  not  quite 
well ;  but  the  people  in  Dunstan's  time  fancied  it  was  some- 
thing very  strange.  When  Dunstan  saw  that  they  admired 
all  he  said  and  did,  he  took  advantage  of  that  fact  to  get 
all  he  wanted,  and,  as  he  was  very  ambitious,  he  soon  be- 
came the  most  important  man  in  the  kingdom. 

Once,  when  his  services  were  not  needed  at  court,  he 
took  up  his  abode  in  a  cell  so  small  and  low  that  he  could 
neither  lie  down  nor  stand  up  in  it.  Here  he  prayed  and 
fasted,  and  worked  at  a  forge,  and  people  came  from  far 
and  near  to  admire  him  and  exclaim  in  wonder  at  his  great 
goodness.  They  often  talked  with  him,  and  believed  all 
he  said,  although  we  are  told  he  once  said  that  the  devil 
came  to  visit  him,  and  that  he  seized  the  fiend  by  the  nose 
with  his  red-hot  pincers! 


57 


XVIII.    THE    MONASTERIES. 

KING  EDRED,  being  as  simple  and  credulous  as  the 
people,  like  them  imagined  that  Dunstan  was  a  saint, 
and  obeyed  him  in  everything.  Dunstan,  being  a  priest, 
wanted  to  have  only  priests  who  shared  his  opinions  in 
England,  so  he  began  to  found  new  monasteries  in  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  country. 

These  monasteries  were  large  houses,  where  many  men 
lived  together  under  the  orders  of  one  of  their  number, 
the  abbot,  or  prior,  whom  they  elected  to  be  their  master. 
The  monks,  as  the  dwellers  in  monasteries  were  termed, 
were  good  men  who  thought  they  could  best  serve  God 
by  promising  never  to  marry,  alwa3"s  to  obey  their  su- 
perior, and,  among  many  other  things,  to  lead  simple  and 
holy  lives. 

Near  each  monastery,  or  forming  part  of  it,  there  was 
a  church  or  chapel,  where  the  monks  assembled  several 
times  a  day,  and  even  in  the  night,  to  say  their  prayers 
and  sing  hymns.  They  all  ate  their  meals  together  in  a 
large  hall,  called  the  refectory ;  and  while  they  ate,  one  of. 
their  number  read  aloud  to  them  from  some  holy  book. 

Each  monk  had  his  own  sleeping  room,  a  narrow  little 
place  called  a  cell,  where  there  were  sometimes  a  hard  bed, 
a  stool,  and  a  crucifix;  but  very  often  the  monks  slept  on 
the  floor,  with  a  stone  or  a  log  of  wood  for  a  pillow.  Their 
only  covering  was  a  rough  woollen  dress  which  they  wore 
summer  and  winter,  and  which  was  often  fastened  around 
the  waist  by  a  rope. 

Each  monk  was  expected  to  do  something  for  the  good 


58 

of  the  rest.  Some  of  them  studied,  preached,  and  copied 
manuscripts  in  the  monastery  Hbrary,  or  scri-ba'ri-iim, 
while  others  cooked,  sewed,  wove  cloth,  tilled  the  ground 
around  the  monastery,  or  watched  the  cows  and  sheep. 
They  were  good,  earnest,  and  charitable  men,  so  every- 
body loved  and  respected  them,  and  the  poor  and  igno- 
rant often  came  to  them  for  help  and  advice.  As  many 
people  gave  them  land  and  money,  the  monasteries  soon 
became  very  rich. 

Besides  the  monasteries,  or  religious  houses  for  men, 
there  were  similar  places  for  women.  These  were  called 
convents,  or  nunneries,  and  the  women  who  dwelt  in  them, 
the  nuns,  were  under  the  orders  of  an  abbess,  or  prioress. 

The  nuns,  besides  looking  after  their  own  housekeeping, 
took  care  of  the  poor  and  sick,  and  taught  young  girls. 
Their  main  occupation,  however,  was  needlework,  in  which 
they  soon  excelled.  Besides  sewing  for  themselves  and 
for  the  needv,  these  holv  women  made  fine  lace  and  deli- 
cate  embroidery,  which  they  either  gave  to  the  church  or 
sold  to  the  wealthy. 

oo>@4oo 

XIX.    AN    UNLUCKY    COUPLE. 

DUN  STAN  was  the  real  ruler  of  England  during  the 
reign  of  Edred.  When  that  king  died,  and  EdVy, 
the  sixteen-year-old  son  of  Edmund,  succeeded  him,  the 
priest  was  still  at  the  head  of  affairs.  But  Dunstan  had 
been  master  so  long  now  that  he  often  forgot  to  show  the 
king  due  respect. 

Edwy  had  married  El-gi'va,  a  beautiful,  gentle,  and  lov- 


59 

able  girl.  But  as  she  was  his  cousin,  and  as  they  had  for- 
gotten to  ask  the  pope's  permission  to  marry,  Dunstan 
made  up  his  mind  to  separate  the  young  couple.  Now 
we  are  told  that  on  the  night  of  Edwy's  coronation  the 
young  king  slipped  out  of  the  noisy  banquet  hall,  and  went 
to  join  his  bride  and  her  mother  in  their  quiet  apartment. 
Dunstan  was  very  angry  when  he  perceived  this,  for  he 
did  not  wish  the  king  to  see  Elgiva  any  more,  and  he 
considered  it  very  rude  of  the  king  to  leave  his  guests. 

The  priest's  temper  so  completely  overcame  his  good 
judgment,  that  he  rushed  into  the  queen's  rooms  and 
dragged  Edwy  back  into  the  banquet  hall.  Not  content 
with  this,  Dunstan  soon  went  further,  and  tried  to  separate 
Edwy  and  his  wife.  First  he  bade  the  king  send  her 
away ;  but,  as  Edwy  did  not  obey,  some  stories  tell  us 
that  Dunstan  had  the  young  queen's  face  branded  with  a 
red-hot  iron,  in  hopes  that  the  king  would  cease  to  love 
her  when  she  was  no  longer  pretty. 

Young  as  he  was,  Edwy  was  too  much  of  a  man  to  de- 
sert the  poor  Uttle  queen  ;  and,  knowing  that  Dunstan  had 
used  some  of  the  public  money,  the  king  promptly  took 
advantage  of  this  fact  to  banish  him.  But  although  Dun- 
stan was  gone,  he  had  given  his  orders  to  a  friend  of  his, 
who  seized  the  young  queen  and  had  her  carried  off  to 
Ireland  a  prisoner.  Then,  hoping  to  make  more  trouble 
for  Edwy,  this  same  wicked  man  stirred  up  the  monks 
and  the  king's  brothers  to  rebellion,  awing  the  people  by 
performing  wonders  which  he  called  miracles,  but  which 
were  probably  clever  tricks,  such  as  are  now  done  to  amuse 
people. 

Poor  Edwy  did  not  know  what  to  do,  and  when  he  heard 


6o 


that  his  beloved  Elgiva,  after  escaping  from  Ireland  to 
rejoin  him,  had  been  overtaken  by  her  enemies  and  cruelly 
murdered,  he  became  so  ill  that  we  are  told  he  died  of  a 
broken  heart,  after  reigning  only  three  years. 

As  soon  as  Edwy  died,  one  of  his  young  brothers  was 
placed  on  the  throne,  and  Dunstan,  coming  back  to  Eng- 
land, again  took  the  power  into  his  own  hands.  The  new 
king,  Edgar,  never  dared  disobey  Dunstan  in  anything ; 
and  when  he  died,  many  years  later,  the  monks  who  wrote 
his  history,  by  Dunstan's  order,  declared  that  he  was  the 
best  monarch  that  ever  lived. 

During  his  reign,  Edgar  not  only  fought  the  Danes, 
but  frequently  sailed  around  the  islands  with  a  fleet  of 
three  hundred  and  sixty  ships,  to  overawe  the  people  and 
prevent  them  from  daring  to  disobey  his  laws.  Eight 
princes  are  said  to  have  recognized  Edgar  as  their  master, 
and  on  one  occasion  to  have  rowed  his  barge  across  the 
river  Dee  to  do  him  honour. 

Although  Edgar  was  none  too  good  himself,  he  made 
severe  laws  for  his  people,  and  insisted  upon  their  keeping 
the  Sabbath  day  very  strictly.  We  are  told  that  Edgar 
accepted  from  the  Welsh  king  the  tribute  of  three  hun- 
dred wolfskins,  instead  of  a  money  payment.  The  result 
was,  it  seems,  that  the  Welshmen  hunted  the  wolves  in  their 
mountains  so  persistently  that  soon  not  one  of  these  wild 
beasts  was  left  to  frighten  the  people  in  England  and  Wales, 
and  devour  their  sheeo  or  their  children. 

One  of  the  chroniclers  tells  a  very  romantic  story.  King 
Edgar,  he  says,  wished  to  marry ;  and  when  he  heard  that 
El-fri'da,  a  Saxon  princess,  was  noted  for  her  beauty,  he 
sent  one  of  his  courtiers  to  see  if  she  was  really  handsome. 


6i 


The  courtier  no  sooner  beheld  this  maiden  than  he  fell  in 
love  with  her  himself,  so,  without  telling  her  that  the  king 
wished  to  sue  for  her  hand,  he  wooed  and  won  her. 

Upon  returning  to  court,  this  man  told  the  king  that 
Elfrida's  charms  were  not  very  great,  and  at  first  Edgar 
believed  him.  But  after  a  while  he  began  to  suspect  that 
his  courtier  had  deceived  him,  and  suddenly  announced 
that  he  was  going  to  visit  the  bride. 

The  courtier  bade  his  wife  wear  her  old  clothes  and 
make  herself  as  unattracti\'e  as  possible  ;  but  Elfrida,  who 
was  proud  of  her  beauty,  disobeyed  him.  She  seemed  so 
beautiful  that  the  king  wanted  her  for  his  wife,  and  with 
her  aid  he  murdered  the  courtier  who  had  deceived  them 
both.  Then  Edgar  married  Elfrida,  who,' as  you  see,  was 
not  at  all  a  good  woman,  although  she  was  so  handsome. 

00>@<00 


XX.    ST.   DUNSTAN. 

WHEN  Edgar  died,  the  Witenagemot  chose  Edward, 
his  eldest  son,  to  succeed  him.  This  choice  greatly 
displeased  Edward's  stepmother,  Elfrida,  who  wanted  her 
own  son  to  reign.  One  day  soon  after  his  coronation,  the 
young  king,  who  had  been  out  hunting,  stopped  at  Corfe 
Castle  to  greet  his  little  brother,  whom  he  dearly  loved. 
As  he  was  about  to  ride  away,  Elfrida  came  out  on  the 
doorstep  to  give  him  a  cup  of  wine.  Edward  gladly  ac- 
cepted it ;  but  while  he  was  drinking,  Elfrida  made  a  sign 
to  one  of  her  servants,  who  suddenly  drew  his  dagger  and 
thrust  it  into  the  king's  back. 


62 


Although  mortally  wounded,  Edward  drove  his  spurs 
into  his  steed,  whicli  galloped  wildly  away.  The  king 
soon  grew  too  faint  to  sit  upon  his  horse,  and  as  he  fell 
from  the  saddle,  his  foot  caught  in  the  stirrup,  and  he 
was  dragged  over  the  rough  roads  by  the  frightened  animal. 
When  his  followers  found  him,  Edward  was  dead,  and  by 
Dunstan's  orders  he  was  buried  in  the  chapel  of  West- 
minster, which  had  just  been  finished. 

On  account  of  his  death,  this  monarch  is  known  in  his- 
tory as  Edward  the  Martyr.  He  was  succeeded  by  his 
little  brother  Eth'el-red,  the  child  who  was  standing  be- 
side Elfrida  when  the  murder  was  committed. 

When  Ethelred  came  to  the  throne,  at  the  age  of  ten, 
Elfrida  deprived  Dunstan  of  much  of  the  power  which  he 
had  exercised  during  so  many  years  and  under  four  pre- 
vious kings.  The  priest  was  so  angry  at  being  set  aside 
that  he  withdrew  to  his  seat  at  Canterbury,  where,  we  are 
told,  he  died  of  chagrin.  The  monks,  whom  he  had  be- 
friended all  his  life,  were  naturally  very  grateful  to  him, 
and  either  because  he  was  better  than  some  stories  would 
make  us  believe,  or  because  they  did  not  know  all  the 
wrong  he  had  done,  they  always  regarded  him  as  a  very 
good  man,  and  at  their  request  he  was  placed  among  the 
saints  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church. 

Elfrida  had,  as  we  have  seen,  not  only  made  her  son 
King  of  England,  but  reigned  in  his  name.  She  was  not 
a  happy  woman,  however,  for  she  was  haunted  by  the 
recollection  of  the  crimes  she  had  committed.  She  there- 
fore left  the  court  to  withdraw  into  a  nunnery,  where  she 
spent  the  rest  of  her  life  in  penance  and  prayer. 

You  have  seen  how  some  Danes  had  settled  in  Eng- 


63 

land.  A  little  before  Dunstan's  time,  some  other  North- 
men went  with  their  leader  Rol'lo  to  France.  This  Rollo 
was  so  tall  and  heavy  that  none  of  the  Northmen's  little 
horses  could  carry  him,  and  as  he  was  thus  forced  to  walk, 
he  was  known  among  his  people  as  Rolf  Gang'er,  or  Rollo 
the  Walker.  He  forced  the  French  king  to  give  him  a 
province  in  northern  France,  which,  as  it  became  the  home 
of  the  Northmen,  or  Normans,  has  ever  since  been  known 
as  Nor'man-dy.  In  exchange  for  the  land,  and  the  title 
of  Duke,  Rollo  promised  to  consider  the  French  king  his 
overlord,  and  to  do  homage  to  him. 

To  do  homage,  a  nobleman  knelt  before  his  monarch, 
placed  both  hands  between  the  royal  palms,  and  in  that 
position  took  his  oath  of  fealty,  or  faithfulness.  Then, 
the  oath  taken,  he  stooped  and  kissed  the  king's  foot. 

When  Rollo  was  told  what  he  was  to  do,  he  angrily 
refused  to  comply.  But  after  the  French  courtiers  had 
argued  with  him  some  time,  he  called  one  of  his  men,  and 
bade  him  go  through  the  ceremony  for  him.  The  huge 
Northman  obeyed  with  ill  grace,  and  took  the  necessary 
oath.  But  when  he  was  told  to  kiss  the  king's  foot,  instead 
of  stooping  down  to  do  so,  he  violently  jerked  it  up  to  his 
lips,  thus  making  the  king  lose  his  balance  and  fall  over 
backward. 


-ooJ^OO- 


XXI.    KING    CANUTE    AND    THE    WAVES. 

KING  ETHELRED  was  a  weak,  ignorant,  and  timid 
monarch,  and   as   he  was  never  able   to  determine 
wisely  what  was  best  to  do,  he  was  surnamed  the  Unready. 


64 

Three  times  during  his  reign  the  Danes  invaded  his  terri- 
tory, and  three  times  he  paid  them  large  sums  to  go  away. 
This  money  was  raised  by  a  yearly  tax,  called  the  Dane'- 
geld,  or  Danes'  money,  and  the  Danish  king,  Sweyn  (swan), 
promised  to  keep  the  peace  as  long  as  it  was  paid. 

Ethelred  promised  to  treat  all  Danes  kindly  and  to  pay 
the  Danegeld  regularly,  but  he  soon  regretted  his  prom- 
ise, and  made  a  plot  to  have  all  the  Danes  in  the  kingdom 
murdered  on  St.  Brice's  day,  in  the  year  1002.  This  mas- 
sacre was  carried  out,  and  as  King  Sweyn's  sister  perished 
with  the  rest,  he  soon  came  over  to  England  to  avenge 
her  death. 

After  some  resistance  on  the  part  of  the  Anglo-Saxons, 
Sweyn  became  master  of  the  country,  and  Ethelred  the 
Unready  fled  to  France  with  his  wife  Emma,  who  was  a 
daughter  of  the  Duke  of  Normandy.  But  the  Danish  king 
died  the  very  next  year,  and,  although  an  attempt  was 
made  to  place  his  son  Ca-nute'  upon  the  throne,  the 
Witenagemot  sent  for  Ethelred,  who  again  became  king. 

The  Saxon  monarch  had  learned  nothing  by  his  former 
misfortune,  so  before  long  the  Danes  came  back,  and  war 
was  waged  between  Canute  and  Ethelred's  son  Edmund 
Ironsides.  After  some  time,  the  tw^o  forces  met  at  As- 
san'dun  in  battle,  and  when  the  fight  w^as  over  it  w^as 
agreed  that  the  land  should  be  divided  between  the  Saxon 
and  Danish  kings,  and  that  the  one  who  lived  longest 
should  be  sole  ruler.  Ethelred  having  died  during  the 
struggle,  Edmund  Ironsides  and  Canute  became  kings. 
But  the  former  did  not  live  very  long,  and  after  his  death 
Canute  reigned  alone. 

Canute  had  been  very  stern  and  cruel  at  first,  so  as  to 


65 

make  the  people  afraid  to  disobey  him;  but  when  he  be- 
came sole  King  of  England  he  tried  to  please  his  subjects. 
Many  of  the  Danes  were  sent  home,  the  English  were  made 
his  officers,  good  laws  were  established,  and  peace  and 
order  reigned  throughout  the  land. 

As  Canute  was  not  married,  he  took  Emma,  Ethelred's 
widow,  for  his  wife,  became  a  Christian,  and  went  on  a  pil- 
grimage to  Rome,  to  receive  the  pope's  forgiveness  for 
his  sins.  About  ten  years  after  becoming  sole  King  of  Eng- 
land, Canute  conquered  Norway,  and  because  he  thus  ruled 
two  kingdoms,  he  was  regarded  as  a  very  powerful  king. 

Besides  being  brave,  Canute  was  wise  and  just,  so  he 
had  plenty  of  admirers  ;  and  his  courtiers,  hoping  to  please 
him,  often  remarked  that  he  was  sole  lord  of  land  and  sea. 
This  flattery  was  distasteful  to  Canute,  so  he  made  up  his 
mind  to  give  his  courtiers  a  lesson. 

One  day,  at  low  tide,  he  bade  his  servants  place  his 
throne  far  down  upon  the  beach ;  and  accompanied  by  his 
courtiers,  in  their  richest  robes,  he  went  down  there  and 
took  his  seat.  Grouped  around  him,  and  still  paying  their 
stupid  compliments,  the  courtiers  kept  a  watchful  eye  upon 
the  waves,  for  they  did  not  wish  to  get  their  clothes  wet. 

When  the  tide  turned  they  ventured  to  suggest  to  the 
king  that  he  have  his  throne  set  farther  up  on  the  beach. 
Canute  carelessly  said  that  he  did  not  want  to  move,  and 
that  as  they  vowed  he  was  lord  of  land  and  sea,  he  would 
bid  the  waves  stand  still.  But  although  he  stretched  out 
his  sceptre  and  ordered  the  water  not  to  come  near  him, 
the  waves  rose  higher  and  higher,  till  the  spray  drenched 
the  courtiers'  fine  clothes  and  forced  them  and  the  king  to 
beat  a  hasty  retreat. 

STO.    OF    ENG.  — 5 


Canute  on  the  Seashore 


67 

When  they  were  beyond  the  reach  of  the  tide,  Canute 
gravely  told  his  courtiers  that  God  alone  was  master  of  the 
sea,  and  made  them  feel  so  ashamed  of  their  senseless  talk- 
that  they  never  ventured  to  flatter  him  again. 


-o-o>Qe^oo- 


XXII.    A    SAXON    NOBLEMAN. 

DURING  the  war  between  the  English  and  the  Danes, 
in  the  reign  of  Ethelred  or  of  Edmund  Ironsides,  a 
Danish  nobleman,  separated  from  his  companions,  lost  his 
way.  As  he  was  afraid  of  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  Eng- 
lish, he  began  to  look  about  him  for  a  guide. 

He  soon  discovered  a  poor  little  hut,  and,  boldly  enter- 
ing, asked  the  Saxon  peasant  who  dwelt  there  to  help  him. 
Now  you  know  the  Saxons  were  noted  for  their  kindness 
to  their  guests ;  so,  although  the  peasant  knew  this  man 
was  an  enemy,  he  gave  him  food  and  drink  and  promised 
that  his  son  should  guide  him  safely  back  to  the  Danish 
camp.  But  the  peasant  asked  in  return  that  the  Dane 
should  keep  the  youth  in  his  service;  for  if  the  lad  came 
back,  and  the  Saxons  discovered  that  he  had  helped  an 
enemy,  they  would  surely  kill  him. 

The  Dane,  led  back  to  his  companions  by*  the  Saxon 
youth  God'win,  took  him  into  his  household,  and  found 
him  very  useful.  Godwin  was  clever  and  ambitious,  and 
worked  so  hard  and  so  faithfully  that  he  finally  became  one 
of  the  principal  officers  of  Canute.  We  are  told,  further, 
that  he  even  married  one  of  the  king's  relatives. 

Canute  died  after  a  reign  of  eighteen  years,  leaving  his 


68 


kingdom  to  three  of  his  sons,  who  were  to  be  kings  of  Nor- 
way, Denmark,  and  England,  The  last-named  throne  he 
intended  for  his  youngest  boy,  Emma's  son,  Har-di-ca- 
nute'.  But  another  of  Canute's  sons,  Harold,  who  was  sur- 
named  the  Harefoot  because  he  could  run  so  fast,  took 
possession  of  the  greater  part  of  England. 

Godwin  at  first  took  the  part  of  Hardicanute,  and  made 
war  against  Harold.  But  after  a  while  he  changed  sides, 
and  some  historians  tell  us  that  one  of  his  daughters  finally 
married  Harold. 

Hardicanute,  instead  of  fighting,  lingered  in  Denmark, 
allowing  his  mother  Emma  to  rule  in  his  stead  over  the 
small  part  of  England  which  Harold  had  not  won.  The 
sons  of  Ethelred,  hearing  there  was  war  in  England,  now 
hoped  to  recover  their  father's  kingdom  ;  but  they  did  not 
succeed.  One  of  them,  Alfred,  was  made  prisoner  and 
cruelly  put  to  death.  Although  Godwin  was  accused  of 
this  crime,  it  could  not  be  proved,  so  he  was  acquitted. 

The  English  soon  grew  tired  of  being  neglected  by  Har- 
dicanute, and  said  they  would  rather  belong  to  Harold, 
who  thus  became  sole  king.  But  when  Harold  died,  Har- 
dicanute came  to  England  to  rule  over  the  whole  country 
in  his  turn.  Godwin,  who  had  once  deserted  him  in  favor 
of  Harold,  now  tried  to  win  his  forgiveness  by  making  him 
a  present  of  a  beautiful  galley,  whose  oars,  rigging,  and  hull 
were  gilded  all  over,  so  as  to  make  it  look  like  a  golden 
ship.  Hardicanute  graciously  accepted  Godwin's  present, 
but  never  fully  trusted  the  man  again.  His  reign  was  very 
short,  for  after  ruling  two  years  he  died  as  he  stood  drink- 
ing at  a  wedding  feast. 

The   English   were  now  tired  of  Danish  kings,  so  the 


69 

Witenagemot  chose  Edward,  Ethelred's  son,  to  rule  over 
them  next.  Edward  gladly  accepted  the  crown,  and  the 
people  welcomed  him  by  a  great  festiv^al.  Some  say  that 
it  was  held  every  year,  in  memory  of  his  coronation ;  but 
others  claim  that  Hock'day,  as  the  festival  is  called,  cele- 
brates the  massacre  of  the  Danes  on  St.  Brice's  day. 

The  people  were  still  more  joyful  when  Edward  put  a 
stop  to  the  Danegeld,  a  tax  which  they  had  been  forced  to 
pay  for  many  a  year.  Their  new  king  was  gentle  and  very 
pious,  and  spent  so  much  of  his  time  in  penance  and  prayer 
that  he  was  considered  a  very  holy  man  and  called  the 
Confessor.  He  was  very  fond  of  the  Normans,  among 
whom  he  had  been  brought  up,  and  would  gladly  have 
made  them  his  sole  advisers,  but  he  did  not  dare  to  do  so 
as  long  as  Godwin  lived.  This  Saxon  nobleman  was  still 
the  most  important  man  at  court,  and  he  tried  to  gain 
more  power  by  making  the  king  marry  his  daughter  Edith. 
Edward,  however,  never  cared  for  her,  and  when  Godwin 
lost  his  power,  some  time  after,  the  poor  queen  was  shut 
up  in  a  nunnery,  and  all  her  property  was  taken  from  her. 

As  people  fancied  that  the  mere  touch  of  so  holy  a  man 
as  Edward  could  cure  them,  many  sick  were  brought  to 
him  ;  and  for  several  centuries  after  this,  it  was  the  custom 
for  the  King  of  England  to  lay  his  hands  upon  people 
who  were  afflicted  by  a  certain  disease  called  the  "  king's 
evil,"  because  he  was  supposed  to  have  inherited  Edward 
the  Confessor's  power  to  heal  it. 

Edward  built  many  churches  and  monasteries  during  his 
reign,  and  would  have  liked  to  go  to  Je-ru'sa-lem  to  visit 
the  Holy  Sepulchre.  He  was  not  able  to  do  so,  however, 
for  his  Norman  friends  and  Godwin  were  always  quarrel- 


JO 

ling.  Tired  of  these  disputes,  Edward  once  turned  angrily 
upon  Godwin,  then  restored  to  favour,  and  accused  him 
of  having  taken  part  in  the  murder  of  Prince  Alfred. 

Godwin,  who  was  then  sitting  at  table,  denied  the  crime, 
adding  that  he  hoped  the  food  he  was  then  eating  would 
choke  him  if  he  were  not  telling  the  truth.  One  story 
says  that  he  choked  to  death  on  the  next  mouthful. 
According  to  another  version,  the  king,  in  anger,  bade 
him  leave  the  country,  and  while  he  was  doing  so  the 
Norman  nobles  pursued  and  murdered  him  in  the  place 
now  known  as  Goodwin  Sands.  Still  another  story,  and 
this  is  the  most  probable,  says  that  while  sitting  at  the 
king's  table  Godwin  was  stricken  dead  by  an  attack  of 
apoplexy, 

A  few  years  later,  after  having  given  his  people  good 
laws,  Edward  the  Confessor  died,  and  was  buried  in  West- 
minster Abbey,  in  the  chapel  which  bears  his  name.  With 
his  death  begins  a  new  epoch  in  English  history,  when  the 
Normans  came  in  their  turn  to  take  possession  of  the  land 
which  had  belonged  to  the  Gaels,  Celts,  Britons,  Romans, 
Anglo-Saxons,  and  Danes. 


-o-oJ^OO- 


XXIII.    LADY    GODIVA'S    RIDE. 

BEFORE  we  go  on  to  the  conquest  of  England  by  the 
Normans,  you  will  like  to  hear  the  stories  of  two 
events  which  have  become  very  famous  because  two  great 
English  poets,  Tennyson  and  Shakespeare,  have  used  them 
as  the  subjects  of  a  beautiful  poem  and  a  fine  tragedy. 


71 


In  the  middle  of  the  eleventh  century,  many  of  the 
English  towns  and  villages  were  under  the  rule  of  harsh 
Saxon  noblemen.  One  of  these  noblemen  was  Le-of'ric, 
Earl  of  Mercia  and  Lord  of  Cov'en-try.  He  was  so  anxious 
to  get  richer  that  he  once  imposed  a  heavy  tax  upon  the 
inhabitants  of  Coventrv. 

When  the  people  heard  of  this,  they  were  in  despair, 
for  it  was  impossible  to  pa*y  it  and  have  enough  money 


E.  Blair  Leighton,  Artist, 


Lady  Godiva. 


left  to  buy  food.  As  they  knew  it  was  useless  to  appeal 
to  the  hard-hearted  earl,  they  went  to  his  wife,  the  beauti- 
ful Lady  Go-di'va,  and  implored  her  to  help  them,  or  they 
and  their  children  would  starve. 


72 

Lady  Godiva  was  as  good  as  she  was  beautiful,  and  al- 
though she  was  afraid  of  her  cruel  husband,  she  went  to 
him,  begged  him  not  to  tax  the  people,  and  promised  to 
do  anything  he  wished,  if  he  would  only  spare  them. 

"  Very  well,  then,"  cried  the  brutal  earl ;  "  ride  through 
the  town  at  noonday,  naked,  and  the  people  shall  not  be 
taxed." 

When  Lady  Godiva  heard  this,  she  shrank  with  horror ; 
for  she  knew  her  husband  would  tax  the  people  unless  she 
rode  naked  through  the  town.  But  although  she  was  as 
modest  as  beautiful,  and  would  rather  have  died  than  do 
an  unwomanly  thing,  she  made  up  her  mind  to  go  through 
this  frightful  ordeal  rather  than  see  the  people  starve. 

By  her  orders,  a  herald  rode  through  the  town,  telling 
the  people  what  the  earl  had  said,  and  bidding  them  all 
stay  in  their  houses,  with  closed  doors  and  windows,  and  not 
glance  out  until  it  was  twelve  o'clock,  and  Lady  Godiva 
had  passed  by.  These  orders  were  obeyed,  and  when  the 
trembling  Godiva  stole  out  of  her  room,  clad  only  in  her 
long  hair,  which  rippled  down  to  her  knees,  no  one  was  to 
be  seen.  She  mounted  her  horse,  rode  all  through  the 
town,  and  back ;  and  because  she  had  done  this,  her  hus- 
band did  not  tax  the  people,  who  were  grateful  to  her  as 
long  as  she  lived. 

We  are  told  that  there  was  only  one  man  in  the  city  who 
was  mean  enough  to  try  to  peep  at  Lady  Godiva  as  she 
rode  by.  This  man,  who  was  a  tailor,  and  who  has  ever 
since  been  known  as  Peeping  Tom  of  Coventry,  was  severely 
punished,  however  ;  for  before  he  had  caught  a  glimpse  of 
Godiva,  he  was  stricken  blind. 

The  second  story  is  not  so  pleasant.      During  the  reign 


73 

of  Edward  the  Confessor,  Dun'can  was  King  of  Scotland. 
Among  his  followers  there  was  a  nobleman  named  Mac- 
beth'. He  was  a  very  ambitious  man,  and,  advised  by  his 
wife,  he  murdered  the  Scotch  king  one  night  when  the 
monarch  was  sleeping  in  his  house.  Duncan  dead,  and  his 
sons  having  fled  to  England,  Macbeth  became  king  in  his 
turn,  and  reigned  over  Scotland  seventeen  years. 

But  he  never  enjoyed  the  crown,  and  he  and  his  wife 
were  haunted  by  remorse  night  and  day.  An  old  prophecy 
had  made  Macbeth  believe  he  would  rule  for  ever,  for  it 
said  he  would  be  king  until  '*  Bir'nam  woods  came  to 
Dun-si-nane'."  But  one  day  when  Macbeth  was  in  Dun- 
sinane  Castle,  one  of  his  servants  cried  out  that  the  forest 
was  comiuCT  Macbeth  rushed  to  the  window  in  time  to 
see  that  a  large  army  had  come  to  attack  him,  and  that 
each  soldier  carried  a  leafy  bough  which  he  had  cut  in 
passing  through  Birnam  woods.  The  prophecy  had  come 
true,  for  Birnam  woods  had  come  to  Dunsinane,  and  though 
Macbeth  fought  bravely,  he  was  slain  by  Duncan's  sons. 

The  poet  Shakespeare  has  written  a  grand  tragedy  about 
this  story  of  Macbeth.  The  play  is  one  of  the  greatest 
treasures  of  English  literature,  and  when  you  are  older 
you  will  read  it  over  and  over  again  with  ever  new  delight. 


-<K)^^0<>- 


XXIV.    THE    BATTLE    OF    HASTINGS. 

WHEN  Edward  the  Confessor  died,  in  1066,  leaving 
no  children,  there  were  several  claimants  to  the 
English  throne.     One  of  them  was  Harold,  the  son  of  God- 


74 

win,  who  was  chosen  by  the  Witenagemot  to  be  the  next 
king.  It  seems,  moreover,  that  Edward  the  Confessor  had 
picked  out  the  same  Harold  to  succeed  him. 

The  Duke  of  Normandy,  also  a  relative  of  Edward, 
claimed  that  the  throne  should  belong  to  him.  He  said 
that  Edward  had  once  promised  to  name  him  his  successor, 
and  added  that  when  Harold  was  shipwrecked  in  Nor- 
mandy he  solemnly  swore  to  help  the  duke  get  possession 
of  the  English  crown. 

According  to  some  histories,  William,  Duke  of  Nor- 
mandy, had  forced  the  shipwrecked  Harold  to  make  that 
promise.  The  Saxon  prince,  thinking  an  oath  under  such 
circumstances  could  not  be  binding,  laid  his  hand  upon  a 
small  relic  which  William  placed  on  the  table.  But  as 
soon  as  the  words  were  spoken,  the  duke  removed  the  cloth 
which  covered  the  table,  and  showed  Harold  a  pile  of  the 
holiest  relics  that  could  be  found. 

Of  course,  in  these  days  a  promise  is  a  promise,  but  in 
the  time  of  Harold  it  was  considered  more  binding  if  made 
upon  several  relics  than  if  upon  one.  If  Harold  really 
promised  to  give  William  the  throne,  he  should  have  done 
so,  but  you  will  find  in  some  histories  that  Harold  made 
no  such  promise,  and  hence  did  not  break  his  word  when 
he  accepted  the  crown. 

However  that  may  be,  Harold  was  no  sooner  named 
king  than  he  found  himself  compelled  to  fight  against  the 
Danes,  who  invaded  his  kingdom  on  one  side,  and  the 
Normans,  who  were  coming  on  the  other. 

Harold,  who  is  known  as  the  "  Last  of  the  Saxons,"  be- 
cause he  was  the  last  Saxon  king,  promptly  collected  his 
army,  and,  marching  rapidly  northward,  met  and  defeated 


75 

the  Danes  at  Starn'ford  Bridge.  But  scarcely  had  he  won 
this  victory,  when  a  herald  came  in  great  haste  to  announce 
that  the  Normans  were  crossing  the  Channel  in  many  ships. 
Without  giving  his  men  a  moment  to  rest,  Harold 
marched  them  from  Stamford  Bridge  to  the  shore  at  Has- 
tings, where  he  arrived  three  days  later,  only  to  find  that 
the  Normans  had  already  landed. 

We  are  told  that  as  William  was  leaving  his  boat  he 
stumbled  and  fell.  People  were  very  superstitious  in  those 
days,  so  some  of  his  followers  began  to  mutter  something 
about  evil  omens  and  bad  luck.  But  William,  who  was  very 
quick-witted,  laughed  aloud,  and,  seizing  some  sand  in  his 
hands,  he  cried  that  he  now  held  England  fast.  This  gave 
his  men  new  courage,  and  when  they  met  Harold's  army 
at  Sen'lac,  a  few  miles  away,  they  fought  with  great  energy. 

For  a  long  while  the  battle  raged  furiously,  and  it  seemed 
doubtful  how  it  would  end.  Then,  suddenly,  a  cry  arose 
that  William  had  been  killed,  and  his  men  paused  in  dismay. 
But  before  they  could  turn  and  flee,  he  put  spurs  to  his 
horse,  and,  snatching  his  helmet  from  his  head  so  that  all 
might  see  his  face,  rode  through  the  ranks,  crying,  "  I  am 
still  alive,  and,  with  the  help  of  God,  I  shall  yet  conquer." 

The  Norman  soldiers,  encouraged  by  these  words,  again 
attacked  the  weary  Saxons,  who  fought  bravely,  in  spite 
of  the  terrible  rain  of  Norman  arrows,  until  they  saw  their 
king  fall  dead.  When  the  battle  was  over,  and  William 
remained  victor,  Harold's  lady-love  came  to  look  for  his 
body.  She  found  it  under  a  heap  of  slain,  on  the  very 
spot  where  he  had  fought  gallantly  to  the  last.  A  Norman 
arrow  was  sticking  through  his  eye  into  his  brain,  and  his 
hand  still  grasped  his  sword. 


1^ 

Some  historians  say  that  Harold's  body  was  buried  in 
an  abbey  near  London.  Others  declare  that  William  or- 
dered that  he  should  be  buried  on  the  shore,  saying,  "He 
guarded  the  coast  while  he  was  alive  ;  let  him  continue  to 
guard  it  after  death."  Upon  his  grave,  wherever  it  was,  his 
lady  is  said  to  have  put  this  epitaph :  "  Here  lies  Harold 
the  Unfortunate." 


-O-O^S^OO- 


XXV.    THE    CONQUEST. 

THE  great  battle  of  Senlac,  or  Hastings,  was  won. 
Harold,  "  Last  of  the  Saxons,"  was  dead;  and  Wil- 
liam, now  called  the  Conqueror,  was  ruler  of  England. 
Although  he  had  no  real  claim  to  the  crown,  William 
took  it  by  force,  and  England  became  his  by  conquest. 

This  battle  of  Hastings,  fought  in  1066,  is  one  of  the 
great  battles  of  the  world,  because  it  decided  the  fate  of 
England,  which  was  now  to  be  ruled,  not  by  a  Saxon  king 
chosen  by  the  wise  men  of  the  kingdom,  but  by  a  monarch 
who  spoke  Norman  French,  brought  new  laws  and  customs, 
and  meant  to  be  absolute  king. 

William's  wife,  Queen  Matilda,  was  so  proud  of  his  vic- 
tory at  Hastings  that  she  and  her  women  worked  a  wonder- 
ful piece  of  tapestry,  sixty-eight  yards  long,  on  which  the 
landing  of  William  and  the  principal  features  of  the  battle 
are  all  represented.  This  wonderful  piece  of  needlework 
still  exists,  and  is  known  as  the  Bayeux  (bah-yuh')  tapestry. 

The  battle  at  Hastings  was  the  only  great  battle  which 
William  had  to  fight,  for  the  Saxons,  who  had  been  masters 
of  England  for  about  six  hundred  years,  dared  no  longer 


John  Cross f  Artist. 


Coronation  of  William  the  Conqueror. 


.77) 


78 

resist  him.  As  William  advanced,  the  towns  opened  their 
gates  to  him,  and  he  marched  right  on  to  London,  where 
he  was  crowned  in  Westminster  Abbey,  on  Christmas  day. 
There  were  great  rejoicings  at  his  coronation,  but  the  occa- 
sion was  marred  by  a  terrible  fire,  which  broke  out  during 
the  service  and  did  much  damage  to  the  city. 

William,  having  become  King  of  England,  gradually 
took  possession  of  the  land,  which  he  distributed  among 
the  Normans  who  had  come  with  him  into  England.  Thus 
Saxon  land  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  Normans,  and  many 
of  the  noblest  families  in  England  now  proudly  claim  that 
they  ''came  over  with  the  Conqueror."  At  court,  in 
church,  and  in  all  the  noblemen's  houses,  Norman  French 
was  the  language  spoken  ;  but  Anglo-Saxon  remained  the 
speech  of  the  humbler  people,  who,  for  the  greater  part, 
became  the  servants  of  the  Normans. 

The  new  masters  of  England  not  only  brought  over  a 
new  language  and  new  customs,  but  they  also  began  to 
build  houses  in  a  new  style.  They  did  not  think  that  the 
low,  rambling,  wooden  houses  which  the  Saxons  and 
Danes  had  occupied  were  fit  for  noblemen  ;  so  they  sent 
over  to  Normandy  for  workmen  to  teach  their  new  serv- 
ants how  to  build  Norman  castles. 

As  you  may  never  have -seen  such  a  castle,  I  will  try  to 
make  you  understand  how  it  looked.  In  the  centre  there 
was  a  huge  round  or  square  tower,  built  of  stone,  with  enor- 
mously thick  walls,  and  with  only  slits  for  windows.  This 
tower  was  called  the  dungeon,  or  keep,  and  was  generally 
occupied  by  the  lord  and  his  family.  They  spent  most  of 
their  time  in  the  principal  apartment,  called  the  hall. 

Around  the  keep  there  was  an  open  space,  paved  with 


79 


stone.     This  was  Inclosed  by  one  or  more  very  thick  walls, 
in  which  were  built  rooms  for  the  servants,  stables,  gran- 
aries,   armouries,    etc.       The  ,^, 
outer  wall   of   the  castle  was    M^§l% 
particularly    strong,  and   was    r^w^^r^ 
surmounted  by  a  parapet  and 
towers,  where    men    at    arms 
were  always  on  guard. 

Directly  under  this  wall 
there  was  often  a  deep  and 
wide  ditch,  filled  with  water ; 
this  was  called  the  moat. 
When  a  person  wished  to  get 
into  the  castle,  a  drawbridge 
was  lowered  over  the  moat, 
and  the  portcullis,  or  iron 
gateway  which  closed  the  en- 
trance to  the  castle,  was 
drawn  up  to  let  him  pass  into  the  inner  court. 


Caesar's  Tower,  Warwick  Castle. 


-ooJ^OO- 


XXVI.    LORDS    AND    VASSALS. 


WILLIAM  THE  CONQUEROR  repulsed  the 
Danes,  who  tried  once  more  to  gain  a  footing  in 
England,  and  subdued  the  few  Saxon  lords  who  still  op- 
posed him.  Then  he  built  a  few  castles  to  keep  order  in 
the  principal  cities  of  his  new  realm.  The  most  noted  of 
these  castles  is  the  great  Tower  of  London  (p.  8o),  which 
you  will  often  find  mentioned  in  this  book. 


8o 


Although  the  conquest  of  England  was  made  after  only 
one  great  battle,  it  took  twenty  years  before  it  was  quite 
completed  and  the  last  attempts  at  rebellion  were  put 
down.      Every  time  a  Saxon  lord  disobeyed,  or  was  killed 


Tower  of  London. 

in  battle,  his  lands  were  given  to  some  Norman  nobleman, 
who,  in  return,  swore  to  be  faithful  to  William. 

It  was  thus  that  with  the  Normans  the  feudal  system 
came  into  England.  Now,  as  you  probably  do  not  know 
what  the  feudal  system  was,  I  am  going  to  try  to  make  it 
clear  to  you.  When  a  king  gave  lands  to  one  of  his  fol- 
lowers, he  did  so  on  condition  that  the  new  owner  should 
remain  his  vassal,  or  servant,  and  should  supply  him  with 
a  certain  amount  of  monev  and  men  in  time  of  war. 

The  lord  or  baron — for  by  some  such  title  these  noble- 
men were  generally  called  —  had  full  power  over  his  terri- 
tory, and  could  even  make  war  upon  his  neighbours.  He 
usually  gave  part  of  his  estates  to  his  followers,  who  in 


8i 


their  turn  promised  to  obey  him.  This  kind  of  ownership 
of  land  —  ownership  depending  on  personal  service  —  was 
called  a  feitd,  and  hence  this  whole  system  was  called 
feudalism.  By  it  each  lord  was  the  vassal  of  a  king,  and 
the  master  of  other  vassals  of  lower  rank. 

To  make  sure  that  order  should  be  maintained  in  his 
new  realm,  William  held  each  lord  responsible  for  the  good 
behaviour  of  his  vassals.  It  was  also  decreed  that  a  bell 
should  be  rung  every  evening,  as  a  signal  that  all  the  fires 
and  lights  should  be  put  out.  This  bell  was  called  the 
curfew  bell ;  and  as  the  people  had  no  more  light,  they 
were  obliged  to  go  to  bed  early. 

Instead  of  trying  criminals  by  the  old  Saxon  methods, 
by  ordeal  or  by  jury,  the  Norman  barons  introduced  the 
fashion  of  making  the  accuser  and  the  accused  fight  to- 
gether, declaring  that  the  innocent  would  always  prevail. 
Of  course  this  was  not  true,  for  the  wrongdoer  was  often 
the  stronger  of  the  two ;  but  for  many  years  these  fights, 
called  judgments  of  God,  or  judicial  duels,  were  often  re- 
sorted to  in  England. 

To  make  sure  that  he  should  know  exactly  how  his  land 
was  divided,  who  owned  each  field  and  house,  and  how 
much  tax  each  landowner  could  afford  to  pay,  William 
had  commissioners  visit  all  parts  of  the  realm.  These  men 
wrote  down  what  they  learned,  keeping  the  record  in  a 
very  old  and  celebrated  book,  which  is  called  the  Domes- 
day or  Doomsday  Book.  It  is  written  on  vellum,  a  very 
fine  kind  of  parchment,  and  is  carefully  kept  as  a  great 
curiosity  in  the  British  Museum. 

You  must  not  imagine  that  the  Conqueror  gave  away 
all  the  land.      On  the  contrary,  he  was  careful  to  keep  a 

STO.  OF    ENG.— 6 


82 


large  share  of  it  for  himself,  and,  as  he  was  very  fond  of 
hunting,  he  had  no  less  than  sixty- eight  forests  full  of 
game.  As  this  did  not  seem  enough,  he  laid  waste  a  huge 
tract  of  more  than  one  hundred  and  forty  square  miles, 
w^here  thirty- six  churches  and  many  pretty  villages  had 
once  stood.  This  land  was  made  into  a  huge  hunting 
ground,  called  the  New  Forest,  and  no  one  was  allowed 
to  hunt  in  it  without  the  permission  of  the  king. 

William  made  several  visits  to  Normandv,  and  on  his 
return  from  one  of  these  excursions,  finding  that  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury  had  not  been  faithful  to  him,  he  put 
a  learned  man  named  Lan'franc  there  in  his  stead.  This 
man  helped  the  king  to  govern,  and  to  settle  the  affairs  of 
the  English  Church. 


-o-o>QKOo- 


XXVII.    DEATH    OF    WILLIAM. 

KING  WILLIAM  was  not  a  happy  man,  in  spite  of  all 
his  conquests.  His  three  sons  gave  him  much  trouble, 
and  once,  when  the  two  younger  lads  playfully  threw  some 
water  upon  their  elder  brother  as  he  was  passing  under 
their  window,  a  terrible  quarrel  broke  out. 

Robert,  the  elder,  declared  that  his  brothers  had  insulted 
him,  and  wanted  to  kill  them  both  in  his  rage.  When 
his  father  reproved  him,  Robert  said  he  would  not  stay  in 
England,  and  asked  to  be  alloVed  to  return  to  Normandy 
and  govern  this  province,  which  his  father  had  once  prom- 
ised him.  William  refused  to  grant  this  request,  so  Rob- 
ert fled  to  Normandy,  where,  joining  some  discontented 
noblemen,  he  declared  war  against  his  father. 


83 

Forced  to  bear  arms  against  his  son,  William  crossed 
the  Channel  with  an  army,  and  after  several  years'  warfare 
father  and  son  met  face  to  face  in  battle.  As  William's 
visor  (the  steel  grating  which  protected  a  warrior's  face) 
was  down,  Robert  did  not  recognize  his  father  until  he  had 
knocked  him  off  his  horse  and  was  about  to  kill  him. 

Full  of  remorse,  Robert  begged  William's  pardon,  helped 
him  to  rise,  and  offered  him  his  own  horse.  But  William 
was  too  angry  just  then  to  forgive  him,  and,  vaulting  upon 
the  steed,  he  rode  testily  away.  It  was  only  some  time 
after,  and  owing  to  the  queen's  entreaties,  that  father  and 
son  became  friends  once  more.  Shortly  after  this,  good 
Queen  Matilda,  a  descendant  of  Alfred  the  Great,  died, 
and  was  sorely  missed. 

The  rest  of  William's  life  was  spent  in  warfare,  and  his 
last  campaign  was  in  France,  where  he  went  to  subdue  a 
revolt  of  the  Normans,  whom  the  French  had  induced  to 
rebel.  The  Conqueror  was  old,  stout,  and  in  poor  health; 
but  when  he  heard  that  the  King  of  France  was  making 
fun  of  him  because  he  was  fat,  he  vowed  revenge. 

He  therefore  attacked  Mantes  (moNt ;  map,  p.  114),  a 
small  town,  where,  after  killing  most  of  the  inhabitants,  he 
had  the  houses  set  afire.  As  he  was  ridinsf  through  the 
place  on  the  next  day,  his  horse  stepped  on  some  hot 
ashes,  and,  rearing  and  plunging  wildly,  flung  the  king 
heavily  against  the  pommel  of  his  saddle. 

The  blow  was  so  violent  that  William  was  mortally  in- 
jured. His  men  carried  him  off  to  a  neighbouring  village, 
where  he  gave  his  last  orders.  He  said  that  his  son  Robert 
should  have  Normandy ;  his  namesake,  William,  England  ; 
and  his  youngest  son,  Henry,  a  large  sum  of  money. 


84 

The  three  young  princes  were  so  anxious  to  take  pos- 
session of  their  inheritance  that  they  all  rushed  away 
without  waiting-  until  their  father  had  breathed  his  last. 
The  king's  servants  followed  their  example  and  fied  also, 
carrying  off  everything  they  could  lay  hands  upon.  Even 
the  sheets  of  the  bed  upon  which  William  lay  were 
snatched  away  from  him,  and  the  thief  escaped,  leaving 
the  king's  body  on  the  ground,  where  it  had  rolled. 

Some  monks  found  the  dead  monarch  lying  on  the  f^oor, 
all  alone,  and  charitably  prepared  to  bury  him.  But  when 
they  had  dug  a  grave  for  him  in  a  church  William  had 
founded,  a  man  stepped  forward  and  said  that  the  ground 
was  his.  The  king,  he  declared,  had  never  paid  him  for 
it,  so  his  body  should  not  be  buried  there. 

The  priests  bought  the  soil ;  but  the  grave  proved  too 
small  to  hold  so  large  a  corpse,  and  the  priests  had  to 
force  it  into  the  hole,  while  the  few  spectators  fled  in 
horror.  The  king,  who  had  won  a  large  part  of  France 
and  all  England  by  his  sword,  was  thus  buried  like  a 
criminal ;  and  as  he  had  shown  no  mercy  to  any  one,  no 
tears  were  shed  over  his  g^rave. 


-o-o;:@<Oo 


XXVIII.    THE    BROTHERS'    QUARRELS. 

WILLIAM  II.,  or  Rufus,  so  called  on  account  of  his 
red  hair,  hastened  over  to  England  and  took  posses- 
sion of  the  treasure  and  of  the  principal  royal  castles.  Then 
he  was  crowned  king  in  Westminster  Abbey,  by  Lanfranc, 
the  good  Archbishop  of  Canterbury. 


85 

As  long  as  Lanfranc  lived,  William  Riifiis  did  not  dare 
show  how  cruel,  selfish,  and  grasping  he  really  was.  But 
when  Lanfranc  died,  people  began  to  see  the  king  in  his 
true  colours.  To  get  money  was  the  new  ruler's  principal 
aim  ;  so  he  forced  the  people  to  pay  heavy  taxes,  and  made 
the  churches  and  monasteries  give  him  large  sums. 

The  Anglo-Norman  barons  (those  followers  of  William 
who  had  settled  in  England,  married  English  wives,  and 
had  thus  become  Englishmen)  did  not  want  William  Rufus 
to  be  their  king.  But  William  made  such  fine  promises 
to  the  Saxons  that  they  helped  him  against  the  barons,  and 
thus  enabled  him  to  keep  possession  of  the  throne. 

This  was  not  the  only  war  which  W'illiam  Rufus  had  to 
fight,  for  we  are  told  that  he  and  Robert  attacked  their 
brother  Henry.  They  wanted  to  force  him  to  gi\e  up 
some  land  which  he  had  purchased  from  Robert.  Of 
course  this  was  very  unjust  and  unbrotherly  behaviour; 
but  the  war  went  on  until  at  last  Henry  was  besieged  in 
the  fortress  on  Mont  St.   Michel  (moN  saN  mee-sher). 

This  castle  stands  on  a  huge  rock  near  the  French  coast, 
and  while  it  is  connected  with  the  mainland  by  a  causeway 
at  low  tide,  it  is  entirely  surrounded  by  water  the  re- 
mainder of  the  time.  On  the  narrow  strip  of  beach  at  the 
foot  of  the  castle,  W^illiam  was  once  thrown  from  his  horse 
in  the  midst  of  the  ficfht.  He  would  have  been  killed 
had  he  not  cried  out,  "  Hold !  I  am  the  King  of  England." 
A  soldier  who  was  about  to  kill  him  helped  him  to  rise, 
and  in  reward  W^illiam  Rufus  took  the  man  into  his  service. 

The  brothers  now  learned  that  Henry  and  his  men  had 
nothing  to  drink.  Although  Robert  was  not  much  better 
than  W^illiam,   he  immediately  sent   Henry  water  for  his 


86 


men  and  wine  for  his  own  use.  This  generosity  made 
William  angry,  but  Robert  hotly  answered:  "What!  shall 
I  suffer  mv  brother  to  die  of  thirst?  Where  shall  we  find 
another  when  he  is  gone?  " 

Henry  now  had  plenty  to  drink,  but  he  could  not  hold 
out  much  longer;  and  after  surrendering  he  left  the  coun- 
try, with  only  a  few  followers. 

In  those  days  it  was  considered  an  act  of  great  piety  to 
journey  on  foot  to  Jerusalem,  to  visit  the  tomb  of  our 
Lord.  When  the  Romans  ceased  to  be  masters  in  the 
East,  the  Sar'a-cens  took  possession  of  the  Holy  Land. 
They  freely  allowed  pilgrims  to  come  and  go;  but  when 
the  Turks  took  Jerusalem,  in  1065,  matters  changed. 

The  pilgrims,  who  were  often  called  palmers,  because 
they  brought  home  palms  as  relics,  were  now  very  harshly 
treated.  One  of  them,  a  monk  named  Peter  the  Hermit, 
was  so  indignant  at  the  cruelty  of  the  Turks  that,  as 
soon  as  he  came  back  to  Europe,  he  won  the  pope's  per- 
mission to  preach  a  holy  war  against  them. 

He  visited  different  parts  of  Europe,  preaching  so 
eloquently  that  most  of  his  hearers  vowed  they  would  go 
and  fight  the  Turks.  Every  one  who  promised  to  do  this 
wore  a  cross  on  his  shoulder;  and  because  crux  is  the 
Latin  word  for  cross,  these  men  were  called  crusaders, 
and  their  wars,  crusades. 

Peter  the  Hermit  was  so  earnest  that  many  noblemen 
joined  the  first  crusade  ;  among  others,  Robert  of  Nor- 
mandy, who  promised  to  set  out  with  an  army.  Now  you 
know  it  is  far  from  Normandy  to  Jerusalem,  so  before 
Robert  could  undertake  this  journey,  he  had  to  raise 
money  to  pay  his  travelling  expenses. 


87 

When  William  II.  heard  this,  he  offered  to  lend  his 
brother  quite  a  large  sum,  on  condition  that  Robert  should 
promise  to  give  up  Normandy  if  he  could  not  pay  back 
the  money  at  the  end  of  five  years.  Robert  consented, 
and  set  out ;  but  as  soon  as  he  was  gone  William  vowed 
that  he  knew  his  brother  would  never  pay  back  the 
borrowed  money,  and  that  Normandy  was  already  his. 
He  therefore  started  out  to  take  possession  of  his  new 
lands,  and  was  in  such  a  hurry  to  get  there  that  he 
haughtily  cried,  when  the  pilot  objected  that  the  sea  was 
rough:  "Sail  on  instantly;  kings  are  never  drowned!" 

Because  William  thus  took  possession  of  his  brother's 
lands,  he  was  forced  to  make  several  wars.  He  was  also 
called  upon  to  resist  the  Norwegians,  who  made  a  last  but 
unsuccessful  attempt  to  get  possession  of  England.  Wil- 
liam was  still  busy  scheming  how  he  could  get  more  land 
and  money,  when  his  life  came  to  a  sudden  end,  after  he 
had  reisrned  thirteen  years. 

It  seems  that  while  he  was  waitinfj  for  a  favorable  wind 
to  carry  him  over  to  Normandy,  he  went  out  to  hunt  in 
the  New  Forest.  He  gave  Sir  Walter  Tyr'rel,  one  of  his 
followers,  two  new  arrows,  and  rode  out  with  him  and 
many  others.  In  the  course  of  the  hunt,  the  king  and 
Tyrrel,  pursuing  a  deer,  were  separated  from  the  rest  of 
the  party.  According  to  some  accounts,  Tyrrel  drew  his 
bow  to  kill  a  stag,  and  his  arrow,  glancing  aside  after  touch- 
ing an  oak  tree,  struck  the  king  and  killed  him  instantly. 
Tyrrel,  dreading  an  accusation  of  wilful  murder,  rode  to 
the  sea,  embarked  on  the  first  vessel  he  found,  and  joined 
the  crusade,  hoping  thus  to  win  forgiveness  for  his  involun- 
tary sin.      Other  accounts  say  that  Tyrrel  had  nothing  to 


88 


do  with  the  king's  death,  but  a  few  declare  that  he  was  a 
real  murderer. 

The  body  w^as  found  by  a  charcoal  burner,  who  carried 
it  to  Winchester  in  his  cart.  There  William  II.  was  buried 
with  very  little  ado,  for  no  one  really  regretted  him. 


3>«t^Oo- 


XXIX.    ARMS    AND    ARMOUR. 

THE  news  of  the  sudden  death  of  William  Rufus  no 
sooner  reached  his  brother  Henry,  than  he  rode  oflf 
in  haste  to  Winchester,  to  take  possession  of  the  royal 
treasure.  The  keeper  at  first  refused  to  let  him  have 
it,  saying  it  belonged  to  Robert;  but  when  Henry  drew 
his  sword,  the  poor  man  was  forced  to  yield. 

Henry  I.,  the  third  Norman  king  of  England,  is  sur- 
named  Beauclerc  (bo-klark'),  or  the  Scholar,  because  he 
was  more  learned  than  most  men  of  his  day.  He  had 
spent  much  of  his  time  in  study,  and  was  proud  of  his 
knowledge,  for  he  had  once  heard  his  father  say,  "  Illiter- 
ate kings  are  little  better  than  crowned  asses."  But  al- 
though Henry  knew  many  things,  he  never  thought  it 
worth  while  to  be  really  good. 

To  win  friends  he  treated  the  Saxons  very  kindly,  re- 
stored the  laws  of  Edward  the  Confessor,  married  Matilda, 
one  of  the  last  descendants  of  their  old  royal  race,  recalled 
An'selm,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  whom  William  Rufus 
had  banished,  and  gave  offices  to  many  priests.  But, 
while  he  made  friends  of  the  Saxons,  man}^  of  the  Nor- 
man barons  refused  to  acknowledge  him  as  their  feudal 


89 

lord,  and  joined  Robert  when  he  came  home  from  Pal'es- 
tine.  As  Robert  declared  war,  Henry  collected  his  troops  ; 
but  when  the  two  armies  came  face  to  face,  a  peace  was 
made.  It  was  then  settled  that  Henry  should  keep  Hng- 
hiiul,  but  should  pay  Robert  a  yearly  sum  of  money. 

Henry  had  no  intention  whatever  of  keeping  his  prom- 
ises, and,  hearing  that  his  brother  was  not  on  good  terms 
with  tlie  Normans,  he  determined  to  gain  possession  of 
their  province  also.  He  therefore  crossed  the  Channel 
with  a  large  army,  and  met  and  defeated  his  brother  at 
Tinchebrai  (taNsh-bra'),  in  I  io6.  Robert  was  not  only 
defeated,  but  carried  off  to  Car'diff  Castle.  There  his  eyes 
were  put  out  in  the  most  cruel  manner,  and  he  was  harshly 
treated  until  he  di  d,  twenty-eight  years  later. 

After  the  battle  of  Tinchebrai,  Henry  took  possession 
of  all  his  brother's  estates.  But  although  he  was  now 
master  of  both  England  and  Normandy,  he  was  far  from 
happy,  for  his  conscience  troubled  him.  Hoping  to  atone 
for  the  wrono:  he  had  done,  he  built  a  beautiful  abbev  at 
Reading  (red'ing)  ;  but  as  this  did  not  appease  his  remorse, 
he  tried  to  forget  his  wrongdoing  by  keeping  very  busy. 
It  was  easy  to  find  plenty  to  do,  for  the  King  of  France 
had  taken  Robert's  young  son  under  his  protection,  and 
was  trvino:  to  recover  Normandv. 

The  war  was  therefore  resumed,  but  even  in  one  of  the 
worst  encounters,  the  battle  of  Brenneville  (bren-veel'),  the 
English  lost  but  three  men.  All  the  rest  escaped  death, 
owing  to  their  fine  armour,  which  no  weapon  could  pierce. 
The  armour  of  those  days,  of  which  you  can  see  fine 
specimens  in  the  principal  museums,  consisted  of  a  helmet, 
or  steel  hat,  with  a  visor,  or  iron  grating  which  could  be 


go 


drawn  down  over  the  face.  This  helmet  fitted  so  closely 
upon  the  coat  of  mail,  which  covered  the  body,  that  there 
was  no  crevice  through  which  an  arrow,  or  the  point  of  a 
sword  or  dagger,  could  be  inserted. 

The  coat  of  mail  was  composed  either 
of  iron  plates,  of  tiny  steel  links  closely 
woven  together,  or  of  small  plates  like 
scales  screwed  together,  and  was  hence 
called  either  plate,  chain,  or  scale  armour. 
Steel  gauntlets,  leggings,  and  shoes,  a 
sword,  a  battle-ax,  a  shield,  and  a  huge 
lance  generally  completed  the  outfit  of 
a  warrior. 

As  the  armour  was  very  heavy,  the 
knights  had  to  be  very  strong ;  and  as 
the  horses  were  also  covered  with  ar- 
mour, they  were  trained  to  bear  great 
weights.  But  although  it  was  hard  to 
find  a  joint  in  the  armour  through  which 
to  wound  a  knight,  it  was  possible  for  an 
adversary  to  unhorse  him  by  riding  hard 
against  him  and  tumbling  him  over 
backward  out  of  his  saddle  by  a  blow  of  a  lance. 

A  knight  thus  unhorsed,  and  lying  on  his  back,  could 
not  rise  without  help,  owing  to  the  great  weight  of  his 
armour,  and  consequently  he  was  at  the  mercy  of  his 
enemy.  The  latter  could  either  kill  him,  or  take  him 
prisoner  and  keep  him  in  captixity  until  he  had  paid  a  sum 
of  money,  which  was  called  ransom. 


Man  in  Armour. 


91 


XXX.    THE    "WHITE    SHIP." 

TO  make  sure  that  Normandy  should  continue  to  be- 
long to  his  family,  Henry  went  over  there  with  his 
son  Prince  William,  to  present  him  to  the  nobles  as  their 
future  lord.  Henry  was  about  to  embark  with  all  his  fol- 
lowers, to  go  back  to  England,  when  a  seaman  came  up 
to  him,  begging  him  to  sail  in  his  vessel,  the  White  Ship. 
As  William  the  Conqueror  had  once  promised  this  captain 
the  privilege  of  taking  the  royal  family  across  the  Channel, 
King  Henry  now  bade  his  son  William  sail  in  it. 

The  king's  vessel  set  out  ahead,  but  the  prince  delayed, 
spending  the  last  hours  in  Normandy  in  feasting.  He  sent 
plenty  of  wine  to  the  boatmen,  that  they  might  drink  his 
health,  and  when  he  finally  set  sail  he  bade  the  half- 
drunken  sailors  row  fast,  so  as  to  overtake  his  father's  ship. 

Before  the  White  Ship  had  gone  very  far,  it  ran  upon  a 
sunken  reef,  stove  a  hole  in  its  bottom,  and  began  to  sink. 
The  captain  hurried  Prince  William  into  a  small  boat,  and 
pushed  away  ;  but  the  prince  heard  his  sister  call  for  help, 
and  insisted  upon  going  back  to  save  her. 

As  the  small  boat  drew  near  the  sinking  vessel,  so  many 
frightened  people  crowded  into  it  that  it  sank  at  the  same 
time  as  the  White  Ship,  with  all  its  living  freight.  It  was 
thus  that  Prince  William  died  the  death  of  a  hero ;  but  we 
are  told  that,  although  he  did  so  noble  a  deed  in  the 
face  of  great  danger,  he  w^as,  on  the  whole,  an  unfeeling 
lad.  Indeed,  he  is  reported  to  have  said  that  when  he 
became  king  he  w^ould  make  Englishmen  draw  the  plough 
themselves,  like  beasts  of  burden. 


92 

The  White  Ship  went  down,  but  three  men  were  still 
afloat,  clinging  to  a  few  spars  which  were  tossing  up  and 
down  on  the  waves.  These  men  were  the  captain,  a  noble- 
man, and  a  Norman  butcher.  As  soon  as  the  captain  could 
speak,  he  wildly  inquired,  ''Where  is  the  prince?  "  When 
he  heard  that  William  had  gone  down  with  the  rest,  he  let 
Cfo  his  hold  and  sank  into  the  sea. 

The  nobleman  clung  to  the  spar  all  night ;  but  when 
morning  came  he  was  too  exhausted  and  cold  to  hold  on 
any  longer,  so  he  also  was  drowned.  The  only  person 
saved  was  the  butcher.  When  the  calamity  became 
known,  no  one  dared  tell  the  sad  news  to  the  king.  Fi- 
nally a  weeping  boy  was  sent  to  him  ;  and  when  Henry 
learned  why  the  child's  tears  were  flowing,  his  heart  was 
filled  with  such  intense  grief  that  he  never  smiled  again. 

Henry's  son  was  dead,  and  his  sole  living  child  was 
Matilda,  the  widow  of  the  Emperor  of  Germany.  She 
now  married  Geoffrey  (jef'ry),  Duke  of  Anjou  (ahN-zhoo'), 
who  was  surnamed  Plan-tag'e-net  because  he  generally 
wore  a  sprig  of  yellow  broom  [planta  genistcE)  in  his  cap. 

No  woman  had  ever  ruled  over  England  then,  but 
Henry  wanted  Matilda  to  be  his  successor,  and  to  make 
sure  that  she  should  inherit  his  crown,  he  made  all  the 
barons  swear  fidelity  to  her.  They  did  so  reluctantly,  be- 
cause in  those  troublous  times  it  seemed  that  the  country 
could  be  safe  only  under  an  able-bodied  man  and  a  warrior. 

Having  taken  these  precautions,  Henry  fancied  that  he 
had  made  Matilda's  succession  certain.  He  reigned  thirty- 
five  years,  lived  to  see  his  three  grandsons,  and  we  are 
told  that  he  died  from  eating  too  many  lampreys,  a  kind 
of  fish  of  which  he  was  very  fond. 


93 


XXXI.    MATILDA'S    NARROW    ESCAPES. 

FORluMOST  among-  the  barons  who  had  sworn  to  up- 
hukl  Matilda  was  Stephen,  lier  cousin,  a  grandson  of 
W'iUiam  the  Coiupieror.  Yet  Henry  was  no  sooner  dead 
than  Stephen  took  possession  of  the  throne.  He  also  had 
himself  crowned  at  Westminster,  and  was  recognized  as 
King  of  England  by  the  pope. 

Stephen's  manners  were  very  pleasant,  so  he  soon  made 
many  friends.  As  he  knew  Matilda  would  want  to  wrest 
the  sceptre  from  him,  he  tried  to  gain  both  rich  and  poor 
by  making  many  promises.  He  told  the  poor  that  he 
would  give  them  a  charter,  or  new  set  of  laws,  and  he 
granted  the  barons  more  freedom,  and  permission  to  build 
as  many  castles  as  tliey  pleased. 

As  the  death  of  the  king  had  been  sudden,  Matilda, 
who  was  then  on  tlie  Continent,  was  not  at  once  able  to 
take  anv  measures  to  defend  her  ric^hts.  But  she  soon 
sent  over  to  claim  the  throne,  and  as  Stephen  would  not 
give  it  up,  she  induced  her  uncle,  David,  King  of  Scotland, 
to  invade  EnHand. 

This  monarch  marched  into  England  before  Stephen 
could  summon  an  army  to  oppose  him.  But  a  brave 
priest  in  the  nortli  of  England,  seeing  the  danger,  collected 
an  army  on  the  spot  and  sent  it  to  meet  David. 

As  there  was  no  king  present  to  lead  this  army,  the 
priest  set  up  a  standard  in  a  chariot,  and  placed  it  in  the 
midst  of  the  army,  telling  the  warriors  it  was  their  duty 
to  defend  their  standard  as  loyally  as  their  king.  The 
battle  which  ensued  has  therefore  been  called  the  Battle  of 


94 

the  Standard.  The  EngHsh  were  victors,  but  they  bought 
complete  peace  from  the  Scots  by  giving  them  a  large 
tract  of  land  in  the  northern  part  of  England. 

Matilda,  in  the  meantime,  had  been  busy  collecting  an 
army,  which,  as  she  herself  could  not  fight,  and  as  her  hus- 
band was  dead,  was  commanded  by  one  of  her  relatives, 
Robert  of  Gloucester  (glos'ter).  When  this  army  appeared 
in  England,  many  Norman  barons  joined  it,  because  they 
were  tired  of  Stephen,  who  had  not  kept  his  promises. 

A  civil  war  now  broke  out  between  Stephen's  and  Ma- 
tilda's parties  in  England.  The  castles  which  were  already 
standing  were  fortified  and  garrisoned,  and  many  others 
were  built  on  all  sides.  Under  pretext  of  fighting  for  the 
king  or  the  queen,  as  the  case  might  be,  the  nobles  living 
in  these  castles  attacked  one  another,  and  burned  and  stole 
so  freely  that  they  are  known  as  the  robber  barons. 

Whenever  Stephen  found  fault  with  these  noblemen 
and  tried  to  punish  them,  they  joined  Matilda's  party  ;  and 
soon  the  whole  country  was  in  an  uproar.  Stephen  be- 
sieged Matilda  in  Bris'tol ;  but  she  escaped,  collected 
another  army,  and  met  him  again  near  Lincoln.  Here 
Stephen  was  defeated  and  made  a  prisoner. 

Matilda  next  rode  in  triumph  to  London,  where  she  was 
named  queen.  But  as  she  was  haughty  and  violent-tem- 
pered, and  kept  pressing  the  people  for  money,  which  they 
were  too  poor  to  give  her,  they  soon  began  to  hate  her. 
In  their  anger  they  drove  her  out  of  the  city  and  forced 
her  to  take  refuge  in  Winchester,  where  Stephen's  brother 
came  to  besiege  her. 

Oueen  Matilda  seems  to  have  been  fated  to  have  narrow 
escapes,  for  she  managed  to  pass  out  of  this  castle,  and 


95 

through  the  enemy's  ranks,  on  the  back  of  a  fleet  horse. 
But  Robert  of  Gloucester,  less  lucky,  was  captured  by 
Stephen's  part}',  who  refused  to  set  him  free  unless  Matilda 
would  gi\'e  them  Stephen  himself  in  exchange. 

Stephen  and  Robert  of  Gloucester,  therefore,  changed 
places,  and  the  war  was  renewed.  Matilda,  cornered 
again,  now  slipped  through  the  hands  of  her  enemies  by 
pretending  to  be  a  corpse,  and  being  carried  out  in  a  horse- 
litter. 

Stephen,  who  had  sworn  never  to  give  up  until  she  was 
his  prisoner,  now  besieged  her  in  the  Castle  of  Oxford, 
where,  in  spite  of  scant  rations,  the  garrison  held  out  until 
midwinter  and  until  snow  covered  the  ground.  When 
Matilda  saw  that  her  brave  defenders  could  not  hold  out 
much  longer,  she  planned  a  bold  escape.  Clad  in  white 
from  head  to  foot,  so  as  not  to  be  discovered  against  a 
snowy  background,  she  crept  out  of  the  castle  one  dark 
night  with  three  knights,  crossed  the  river  on  the  ice,  and, 
walking  six  miles,  came  to  a  place  of  safety. 

Here  she  met  Robert  of  Gloucester,  with  Prince  Henry, 
her  eldest  son,  and  the  war  went  on  for  some  time  longer. 
But  Matilda's  energy  was  nearly  exhausted,  and,  disheart- 
ened by  the  death  of  her  chief  supporter,  Robert  of  Glouces- 
ter, she  finally  went  back  to  Normandy.  Then  Prince 
Henry  carried  on  the  war  alone;  and  in  the  year  1153, 
after  eighteen  years  of  civil  war,  he  agreed,  at  the  treaty 
of  WaPling-ford,  to  leave  the  crown  to  Stephen  as  long  as 
the  latter  lived,  provided  it  should  pass  on  to  him  at  the 
kin!2:'s  death. 

^B  R  A  R 

OF     fit 

UNIVERSITY   j 


96 


XXXII.    THE    STORY    OF    FAIR    ROSAMOND. 

STEPHEN,  tlie  last  of  the  four  Norman  kings,  died  just 
one  year  after  the  treaty  of  Walhngford,  leaving  no 
children,  so  Henry  had  little  trouble  to  get  the  crown.  He 
is  called  Henry  II.,  the  Shortmantle,  and  is  the  first  of 
the  An^ge-vine  or  Plantagenet  kings. 

The  new  monarch  was  only  twenty-one  years  old,  and 
as  he  was  handsome,  graceful,  and  learned,  he  soon  made 
many  friends.  Both  the  Saxons  and  the  Normans  were  glad 
to  have  him  reign,  and  as  he  dismissed  the  foreign  soldiers 
whom  Stephen  had  enlisted,  issued  good  coin,  and  restored 
law  and  order,  he  became  very  popular. 

Besides  being  one  of  the  cleverest,  Henry  II.  was  one 
of  the  most  powerful  kings  of  his  time.  He  inherited 
several  French  provinces  from  his  father,  and  his  wife  ET- 
ean-or  brought  him  more  land.  Indeed,  he  was  lord  over 
more  territory  in  France  than  the  French  king  himself, 
so  it  is  no  wonder  the  latter  was  jealous  of  him. 

Although  his  wife  Eleanor  was  rich,  she  was  so  bad-tem- 
pered and  cruel  that  Henry  could  not  love  her,  and,  if  we 
are  to  believe  one  very  romantic  story,  he  neglected  her 
in  order  to  visit  a  beautiful  3/'oung  lady,  called  Fair  Ros'a- 
mond.  This  made  Queen  Eleanor  so  jealous  that  she  re- 
solved to  kill  her  beautiful  rival. 

It  was  not  easy  to  find  Fair  Rosamond,  however,  for 
the  king  had  built  a  maze  f()r  her  at  Woodstock,  and  her 
bower  was  in  tlie  centre  of  this  labvrinth.  Althoufjh  the 
way  to  it  could  be  found  only  by  using  a  silken  thread  as 
clue,  Eleanor  suddenly  appeared  before   Fair  Rosamond 


97 

one  day,  and  told  her  she  must  die,  sternly  bidding  her 
choose  between  the  dagger  and  the  bowl  of  poison  which 
she  held.  We  are  told  that  the  cruel  queen  forced  Fair 
Rosamond  to  drink  the  poison.  But  all  this  happened  so 
long  ago  that  no  one  knows  whether  it  is  true;  still,  ever 
since  then,  when  people  have  to  take  one  of  two  evils,  they 
are  said  to  have  no  choice  except  between  the  dagger  and 
the  bowl. 

During  the  long  civil  war  in  the  last  reign,  the  barons, 
as  we  have  seen,  had  built  many  castles  and  waged  many 
private  wars.  They  had  learned  to  do  just  as  they  pleased, 
to  respect  no  one's  rights,  and  to  rob,  murder,  and  burn. 
No  one  had  been  safe  in  the  realm,  except  such  as  dwelt 
in  the  monasteries  or  convents,  and  it  is  no  wonder  that 
these  were  full,  for  people  took  refuge  in  the  only  place 
where  they  could  dwell  in  peace. 

Henry  could  not  allow  the  barons  to  go  on  thus,  and  one 
of  his  first  acts  was  to  call  them  to  order.  He  made  war 
against  all  those  who  would  not  obey  him,  and  had  many 
of  the  fortresses  pulled  dow^n,  so  that  the  robber  barons 
could  no  longer  take  refuge  behind  their  strong  walls.  To 
satisfy  the  people,  he  gave  them  the  charter  which  Stephen 
had  promised,  and  decided  that  criminals  should  be  tried 
by  a  jury  of  twelve  men.  Trial  by  ordeal  was  not  entirely 
abolished,  but  men  were  no  longer  forced  to  pro\e  their 
innocence  by  conquering  their  accusers  in  battle. 

The  priests  had  hitherto  been  tried  only  b}-  their  own 
class,  who  inflicted  very  slight  punishments  upon  them,  but 
Henry  now  declared  that  if  a  priest  or  monk  did  wrong 
he  should  be  tried  and  punished  just  the  same  as  any  other 
man.     This  change  in  the  law  was  opposed  for  some  time, 

STO.  OF   F.XG.  —  7 


99 

and  it  was  only  after  a  long  fight  with  the  clergy,  or 
church  party,  that  the  new  laws  were  passed.  They  were 
carefully  drawn  up  at  last,  and  are  known  in  history  as 
the  Constitutions  of  Clar'en-don. 


-»<>?#<  Oo- 


XXXIII.    THOMAS    A    BECKET. 

IN  the  beginning  of  his  reign,  Henry  was  often  helped 
b}'  the  good  advice  of  a  man  named  Thomas  a  Becket. 

A  very  pretty  story  is  sometimes  told  about  this  man's 
mother.  His  father  Gilbert,  it  seems,  had  gone  to  Pales- 
tine on  a  crusade  or  as  a  merchant.  In  some  way  he  be- 
came the  prisoner  of  a  Saracen  lord,  and  would  hax^e  been 
obliged  to  remain  in  a  dungeon  all  his  life,  had  not  the 
Saracen's  daughter  fallen  in  love  with  him.  She  helped 
Gilbert  to  escape  ;  and  then,  thinking  she  could  not  live 
without  him,  she  too  started  off  for  England,  hoping  to 
find  her  lover.  She  persistently  said  the  word  London 
over  and  over  again  until  she  reached  that  city.  Then 
she  changed  her  refrain  and  wandered  up  and  down  the 
streets,  crying,  "  Gilbert!  "  which  was  the  only  other  Eng- 
lish word  she  knew.  Strange  to  relate,  Gilbert  heard  her 
cry,  and,  rushing  to  meet  her,  took  her  into  his  house, 
where  she  became  his  wife. 

Thomas  a  Becket,  the  son  of  Gilbert  and  of  this  Sara- 
cen lady,  received  such  a  good  education  that  he  was  asked 
to  teach  the  king's  children.  Henry  soon  became  \'ery 
much  attached  to  him,  and  he  rose  from  rank  to  rank  until 
he  became  chancellor  of  the  kingdom,  and  keeper  of  the 


lOO 


great  seal,  an  impression  of  which  was  placed  at  the  bot- 
tom of  every  royal  decree. 

Henry  II.  not  only  raised  Thomas  a  Becket  to  a  high  rank, 
but  also  gave  him  great  wealth.  The  chancellor  delighted 
in  fine  clothes,  had  many  followers,  lived  in  beautiful  houses, 
and  spent  his  inoney  freely.  He  was  on  such  good  terms 
Vvdth  his  royal  master  that  they  often  had  friendly  disputes. 

One  day,  when  the  king  was  riding  out  with  Thomas,  a 
beggar  stepped  up,  asking  for  alms.  Henry  slyly  asked 
Becket  whether  it  would  not  be  a  very  good  deed  to  give 
the  poor  man  a  warm  cloak.  Becket  answered  that  it 
certainly  would  ;  but  when  the  king  laid  hands  upon  the 
beautiful  mantle  he  was  wearing,  and  tried  to  pull  it  off, 
he  resisted.  The  result  was  a  scuffle,  and  finally  Henry 
gave  so  strong  a  tug  that  he  tore  the  cloak  off  the  chan- 
cellor's back.  He  then  tossed  it  to  the  astonished  beggar, 
and  rode  away,  laughing  at  Becket's  dismay. 

In  the  first  part  of  the  king's  reign,  Becket,  who  was 
also  a  priest,  helped  him  in  his  disputes  with  the  clergy. 
Because  of  this,  Henry  decided  that  Becket  should  be 
named  Archbishop  of  Canterbury.  The  priest  of  this 
cathedral  was  the  primate,  or  principal  clergyman,  in  the 
kingdom,  and  Henry  fancied  that  when  Becket  was  in  this 
position  he  would  go  on  helping  him. 

The  king  was  mistaken,  however,  as  he  soon  found  out. 
No  sooner  had  Becket  become  Primate  of  England  than 
he  suddenly  changed.  He  no  longer  wore  beautiful  clothes 
or  lived  luxuriously.  On  the  contrary,  he  wore  the  plain- 
est garments,  ate  simple  food,  and,  instead  of  leading  a 
merry  life,  spent  all  his  time  in  penance  and  prayer  and  in 
doing  good. 


lOl 


Henry  did  lu^t  like  this  sudden  change  at  all;  but  what 
matle  him  most  angry  was  that  Thomas  a  Becket,  instead 
of  helping  him  subdue  the  rebeUious  priests,  now  became 
the  most  obstinate  and  resolute  of  them  all.  He  bitterly 
opposed  the  Constitutions  of  Clarendon,  refused  to  recog- 
nize any  other  master  than  the  pope,  and  declared  that 
Henry  should  obey  the  Church  in  all  things,  instead  of 
tr}ing  to  be  sole  master  in  his  kingdom. 

The  quarrel  between  the  king  and  his  archbishop  grew 
more  and  more  bitter,  until  finally  Becket  left  England  and 
went  over  to  France.  Here  he  stirred  up  trouble  for 
Henry  by  persuading  the  French  king,  Louis,  to  invade 
the  English  king's  possessions  there,  and  by  threatening 
Henry  with  excommunication,  or  expulsion  from  the  Church. 
Henry  was,  of  course,  very  indignant  when  he  heard  this; 
but  a  meeting  was  soon  brought  about,  and  king  and  pri- 
mate were  publicly  reconciled.  To  show  the  people  that  he 
and  the  priest  were  again  good  friends,  Henry  even  held 
the  stirrup  of  Becket's  mule  and  helped  him  to  mount  it 
when  Becket  had  once  thrown  himself  at  the  king's  feet. 


00^:^00 

XXXIV.    THE    MURDER    OF    THOMAS 

A    BECKET. 

HENRY  and  Thomas  a  Becket  did  not  long  remain  on 
good  terms,  for  the  primate  was  as  haughty  as  ever. 
During  Becket's  absence  Henry's  son  had  been  crowned 
as  his  heir.  The  primate  said  no  one  had  the  right  to 
perform  such  a  ceremony  without  his  consent.      He  there- 


I02 


fore  excommunicated  the  bishops  who  had  done  so.  When 
this  news  reached  Henry,  he  angrily  cried:  "  Of  the  cow- 
ards who  eat  my  bread,  is  there  not  one  who  will  free  me 
from  this  turbulent  priest?" 

These  rash  words  were  unhappily  taken  in  earnest  by 
four  of  his  knights,  who,  leaving  his  presence,  went  over 
to  Canterbury  to  murder  Becket.      They  were  so  deter- 


C.  H.  Weigall,  Artist. 


Martyrdom  of  Thomas  a  Becket. 


mined  to  kill  him  that  they  forced  their  way  into  the 
cathedral,  crying,  "Where  is  the  archbishop?  Where  is 
the  traitor?  " 

"  I  am  the  archbishop,  but  no  traitor,"  answered  the 
primate,  proudly,  as  he  came  forward  to  meet  them.  But 
they  rushed  upon  liim,  weapons  in  hand,  and  in  spite  of 
liis  struggles   struck   him   down   at  the  foot  of  the  altar. 


I03 

Then,  frightened  by  what  they  had  done,  they  fled  in 
haste,  and,  troubled  by  remorse,  went  to  Palestine.  They 
never  dared  come  back  to  England,  but  died  and  were 
buried  in  the  Holv  Land,  where  these  words  were  written 
on  their  tombstone :  "  Here  lie  the  murderers  of  St. 
Thomas  of  Canterbury." 

This  murder,  which  the  king  had  not  positively  ordered, 
excited  great  indignation  among  the  people.  They  loudly 
mourned  the  archbishop,  and  buried  him  in  the  cathedral 
at  Canterbury.  Soon  after,  the  pope  declared  that  he  was 
a  saint  and  a  martyr,  so  the  pious  began  to  visit  his  tomb 
in  crowds.  Before  long  the  rumour  spread  that  those  who 
visited  it  were  healed  of  any  disease  from  which  they  hap- 
pened to  suffer,  and  that  even  the  dead  came  back  to  life. 

The  result  of  this  report  was  that  pilgrims  came  from 
all  parts  of  the  world  to  pray  at  the  shrine  of  St.  Thomas 
a  Becket.  Every  fifty  years  there  was  a  special  celebra- 
tion, called  a  jubilee  ;  and  on  one  of  these  occasions  no 
less  than  one  hundred  thousand  pilgrims  came  to  the  grave 
of  the  murdered  primate. 

When  the  pope  heard  how  Becket  had  died,  he  wanted 
to  excommunicate  Henry;  that  is  to  say,  to  forbid  his  en- 
tering a  church  or  being  considered  a  child  of  God.  The 
people  fancied  that  they  need  no  longer  obey  a  man  who 
had  been  so  wicked  as  to  quarrel  with  a  priest,  and  Henry 
saw  that  unless  he  did  something  to  please  the  pope  he 
would  soon  have  no  more  power.  He  therefore  went  over 
to  Ireland,  conquered  the  country,  and  made  the  rebellious 
people  obey  the  priests  of  the  Catholic  Church.  Then  he 
solemnlv  swore  that  he  had  not  intended  to  kill  Becket. 

The    pope   consented    to   forgive   him,  but   even   then 


I04 

Henry's  troubles  were  not  ended.  His  sons  revolted  ;  and 
Henry,  hoping  to  gain  God's  help  to  subdue  them,  pre- 
pared to  do  public  penance  for  his  share  in  Becket's  murder. 
He  therefore  walked  to  Canterbury  barefoot,  spent  the 
night  in  prayer  at  the  saint's  tomb,  bade  the  eighty  monks 
there  beat  him  on  his  bare  shoulders,  and  by  thus  humili- 
ating himself  brought  the  monks  and  his  subjects  to  think 
less  severely  of  his  sin.  The  same  day  his  army  won 
a  victory,  which  the  people  claimed  as  another  miracle 
worked  by  St.  Thomas  of  Canterbury. 

In  the  course  of  his  reign,  Henry  had  not  only  to  oppose 
his  rebellious  children  in  Normandy,  but  also  to  fight  their 
allies,  the  Scotch,  Welsh,  and  Irish.  He  recovered  the 
province  which  the  Scots  had  won  in  the  preceding  reign, 
took  their  king  captive,  and  became  master  of  a  large  part 
of  Ireland,  which  he  said  he  would  give  to  his  favourite 
son,  John,  for  at  that  time  he  fancied  that  John  had  always 
been  a  good  son. 

This  was  not  so.  All  Henry's  children  were  undutiful, 
because  they  had  been  badly  trained  by  their  mother  Elean- 
or. When  they  first  revolted,  she  tried  to  escape  from  Eng- 
land and  join  them  ;  but  by  the  king's  orders  she  was 
overtaken  and  thrust  into  prison,  where  she  staid  as  long 
as  her  husband  lived. 

Henry's  public  penance  had  made  so  good  an  impression 
on  his  people  that  they  cheerfully  helped  him  against  his 
sons;  but  after  some  more  fighting,  Henry  was  compelled 
to  make  peace,  submit  to  the  terms  of  the  French  king,  and 
swear  to  forgive  all  the  rebels.  As  soon  as  he  had  given 
this  promise,  some  one  brought  him  a  list  of  the  men  who 
had  plotted  against  him ;   and    Henry  was   stricken  with 


105 

grief  when  he  saw  among  them  the  name  of  his  youngest 
son,  John. 

This  hist  sorrow  proved  too  much  for  the  poor  king, 
who  fell  sick,  and  died  at  the  foot  of  the  altar,  where  he 
had  asked  to  be  laid.  He  had  reigned  thirty-four  years, 
had  extended  the  English  territory,  and  h.ad  made  many 
improvements  in  the  condition  of  the  inhabitants;  so  he 
is  remembered  as  one  of  iMigland's  great  kings. 


-o-o>#<0<>- 


XXXV.    RICHARD'S    ADVENTURES. 

THE  year  before  Henry  died,  all  Europe  was  sad- 
dened by  the  news  that  Jerusalem,  which  had  been  in 
Christian  hands  for  eighty-eight  years,  had  again  fallen 
into  the  hands  of  the  Saracens.  Another  crusade  was 
now  preached,  and  the  King  of  France,  the  Emperor  of 
Germany,  and  a  host  of  their  best  warriors  joined  it. 

Henry's  sons  were  anxious  to  take  the  cross,  too,  espe- 
cially Richard  Cceur  de  Lion  (ker  dull  lee-awN'),  or  the 
Lion-hearted,  who  had  won  this  surname  by  his  remark- 
able courai'e.  As  their  father  refused  to  let  them  all 
go,  they  rebelled  against  him  ;  and  in  the  course  of  the 
war  one  of  them,  Geoffrey,  fell  very  ill.  Feeling  that  he 
was  about  to  die,  he  regretted  his  unfilial  conduct,  and 
sent  a  pitiful  message  to  Henry,  begging  him  to  come  and 
forgive  him. 

The  courtiers  tried  to  persuade  Henry  that  this  was 
only  a  trick  on  Geoffrey's  part.  But  although  Henry  did 
not  go  to  his  son,  he  sent  him  a  ring  in  token  of  complete 


io6 


forgiveness.  Geoffrey  died  lying  on  a  bed  of  ashes  to 
show  his  repentance,  kissing  the  ring,  and  recommending 
his  Httle  son  Arthur  to  his  father's  care. 

When  Henry  died,  Richard  succeeded  him  on  the  throne, 
and,  now  that  it  was  too  late,  he  bitterly  regretted  having 
ever  borne  arms  against  his  father.  The  remembrance  of 
this  sin  made  him  all  the  more  eager  to  keep  his  promise 
and  go  to  Palestine ;  for  people  then  supposed  that  one 
could  be  forgiven  for  any  sin  by  visiting  the  grave  of 
Christ  at  Jerusalem. 

Before  he  could  set  out,  however,  Richard  had  to  take 
possession  of  his  new  kingdom  and  arrange  how  it  should 
be  governed  during  his  absence.  He  therefore  crossed 
from  Normandy  to  England,  and  went  to  London,  where 
he  was  crowned  with  great  rejoicings.  All  the  people 
were  invited  to  see  the  festivity  except  the  Jews.  In 
those  days  the  Christians  were  always  very  cruel  to  the 
Jews,  and  besides  forcing  them  to  live  apart,  made  them 
wear  garments  and  hats  of  a  dirty  yellow  colour,  so  as  to 
recognize  them  from  afar. 

Hoping  to  make  the  new  king  kinder  to  them,  some 
Jews  came  to  offer  him  rich  presents ;  but  the  people, 
seeing  them,  fell  upon  them,  and  after  beating  them  began 
to  kill  them.  This  outrage  became  the  signal  for  a  series 
of  massacres  all  through  the  kingdom.  We  are  told  that 
the  York  Jews,  after  holding  out  for  a  long  time  in  a  tower 
where  they  had  intrenched  themselves,  killed  their  wives 
and  children  and  set  fire  to  the  place,  so  as  to  die  in  the 
flames,  rather  than  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  cruel  Chris- 
tians. Richard  did  not  try  very  hard  to  stop  this  awful 
massacre,  and  no  one  was  punished,  except  a  few  men  who, 


lo; 

in  pursuing-  the  unhapp)^  Jews,  injured  some  of  their  fel- 
low-Christians. 

Richard  first  released  his  mother  Eleanor  from  prison. 
Then,  to  raise  money  for  the  crusade,  he  sold  many  offices 
to  the  highest  bidders.  For  a  certain  sum  of  money  he 
released  the  King  of  Scotland  from  his  vassalage;  he  sold 
his  castles  and  estates,  compelled  his  subjects  to  lend  him 
money,  and  declared  that  he  would  sell  London  itself,  if 
he  could  only  find  a  purchaser  rich  enough  to  buy  it. 

Then,  having  secured  all  the  money  he  needed,  Richard 
left  the  kingdom  in  the  hands  of  two  bishops,  and  set  out 
for  Palestine,  where  he  was  to  play  a  brilliant  part  in  the 
third  crusade.  He  stopped  twice  before  he  got  there,  once 
at  Mes-si'na,  to  await  a  favourable  breeze,  and  once  at 
the  island  of  Cy'prus. 

Here  the  king  of  the  island  was  very  rude  to  Richard's 
betrothed,  the  fair  Be-ren-ga'ri-a,  and  unkind  to  ship- 
wrecked sailors.  This  made  Richard  so  angry  that  he  took 
possession  of  all  Cyprus  and  made  the  king  a  captive  We 
are  told,  however,  that  he  was  very  polite  to  his  royal  pris- 
oner, and  that,  when  the  latter  objected  to  wearing  iron 
chains  like  a  common  criminal,  he  had  him  bound  with 
fetters  of  silver,  a  favour  which  was  greatly  appreciated 
by  the  fallen  king. 


-o-OJ^^Oo- 


XXXVI.    RICHARD   AND  THE   SARACENS. 

RICHARD  left  Cyprus  as  soon  as  he  had  married  Be- 
rengaria,  and  sailed  on  to  A'cre,  a  stronghold  on  the 
coast  of  Palestine  which  the  crusaders  had  vainly  besieged 


io8 


for  two  years.  There  he  was  warmly  welcomed  by  the 
Christian  host ;  but  he  was  so  much  braver  than  any  of  the 
other  princes  that  they  soon  grew  jealous  of  him. 

Although  the  city  of  Acre  was  very  strongly  fortified, 
Richard  made  such  daring  attacks  upon  it  that  the  inhabit- 
ants finally  promised  to  surrender  in  forty  days  and  to 
give  back  the  cross  to  the  Christians.  But,  hearing  that 
their  famous  chief  Sal'a-din  had  come  with  an  army,  and 
that  he  had  hemmed  in  the  Christians  around  the  city,  the 
people  of  Acre  did  not  keep  their  word.  When  the  forty 
days  were  over,  and  Richard  saw  that  they  had  deceived 
him,  he  ordered  the  heads  of  three  thousand  Saracen  pris- 
oners to  be  struck  off  in  the  presence  of  their  friends  on 
the  city  walls. 

When  Saladin  heard  this,  he  had  as  many  Christian 
captives  slain,  and  the  war  was  renewed  more  furiously 
than  ever.  Richard  was  very  brave,  but  he  was  neither 
humane  nor  gentle,  and  he  soon  quarrelled  with  the  King 
of  France  and  the  Duke  of  Austria.  Although  they  re- 
mained with  him,  these  two  princes  secretly  hated  him,  and 
tried  to  hinder  him  in  every  way. 

For  months  the  fighting  went  on,  and  as  Richard  was 
always  in  the  thickest  of  the  fight,  his  name  became  the 
terror  of  the  country.  Saracen  mothers  used  to  threaten 
naughty  children  by  saying,  "Look  out;  King  Richard 
will  catch  you  ;  "  and  when  a  horse  shied,  the  Saracen 
warrior  would  cry,  "  Dost  think  King  Richard  is  behind 
yon  bush?  " 

The  Saracens,  however,  were  worthy  foes  for  the  Chris- 
tian knights;  and  their  leader  SaL'uh'n  was  just  as  brave, 
just  as  generous,  and  just  as  cruel,  at  times,  as  the  famous 


I09 

Ricliard  himself.  We  are  told  that  these  two  leaders  once 
had  an  interview,  in  which  each  showed  his  skill  in  handling 
the  sword.  While  Richard  cut  a  huge  bar  of  iron  in  two 
with  one  mighty  stroke,  Saladin  deftly  divided  a  down  and 
silk  pillow  and  a  floating  veil  of  gauzy  tissue,  which  were 
equally  difficult  feats. 

Once,  during  the  war,  Richard  fell  seriously  ill  with 
fever.  When  Saladin  heard  that  his  enemy  was  sick,  he 
made  a  truce;  and  as  long  as  the  disease  lasted,  he  daily 
sent  Richard  fresh  fruit,  and  ice  and  snow  which  were 
brought  down  from  the  top  of  Mount  Leb'a-non. 

The  Christians,  however,  were  in  the  meantime  sorely 
afraid  of  the  Saracens,  for  the  latter  had  the  aid  of  the 
chief  of  the  As-sas'sin  tribe,  called  "  the  Old  Man  of  the 
Mountain."  The  subjects  of  this  chief  were  so  de\'Oted  to 
him  that  they  would  obey  him  blindly,  and  he  trained  a 
number  of  tlie  youngest  and  strongest  among  them  to  go 
among  the  Christians  and  suddenly  stab  them  with  poi- 
soned daggers.  Because  these  Assassins  never  appeared 
among  the  Christians  except  to  commit  murder  thus,  their 
name  has  become  a  common  term  for  one  who  treacher- 
ously kills  a  fellow-being. 

Acre  was  finally  taken  bv  the  Christians,  who  now 
began  to  quarrel 'among  themselves  about  the  naming  of 
a  king  for  Jerusalem,  which  they  hoped  soon  to  win  also. 
Richard  sided  with  one  party,  the  French  king  and  the 
Duke  of  Austria  with  another.  The  man  chosen  by  the 
latter  party  was  murdered  by  one  of  the  Assassins,  but 
they  accused  Richard  of  having  had  a  share  in  the  crime. 

The  French  king,  angry  and  jealous  because  Richard 
was  reaping  all   the   honours,  prepared   to   return   home. 


I  lO 


Before  he  left  the  crusaders  he  solemnly  promised  not  to 
make  any  attempt  to  take  Richard's  lands  or  to  do  him 
any  harm  during  his  absence.  But  as  soon  as  he  arrived 
in  Rome,  he  began  to  complain  about  Richard  to  the  pope. 
The  pope,  however,  would  not  listen  to  any  of  Philip's  ac- 
cusations, for  he  knew  that  without  Richard  the  crusaders 
would  soon  have  to  give  up  all  hope  of  taking  Jerusalem. 

Richard,  in  the  meantime,  had  won  a  brilliant  victory 
over  the  Saracens  at  Ar-suf,  where  many  of  the  forty  thou- 
sand slain  fell  by  his  powerful  hand.  He  next  wished  to 
march  on  to  Jerusalem  ;  but  his  soldiers  were  weary  of 
fighting,  and  refused  to  go  farther. 

Richard  therefore  retreated  to  As'ca-lon,  where  he  helped 
the  Christians  rebuild  their  fortifications,  carrying  stone 
and  mortar  with  his  own  hands.  This  conduct  was  viewed 
with  scorn  by  the  Duke  of  Austria,  who  insolently  re- 
marked that  Jiis  father  had  not  been  a  bricklayer.  Some 
historians  say  that  it  was  this  remark  which  caused  a  final 
breach  between  the  leaders,  and  report  that  Richard  re- 
sented it  by  kicking  the  lazy  and  impudent  duke.  Others 
say  that  it  was  a  dispute  about  a  flag.  However  this  may 
be,  Le'o-pold  of  Austria  left  the  army  soon  after  this,  and 
went  home,  vowing  he  would  be  revenged  some  day. 

o-o>^Oo 


XXXVn.  THE  FAITHFUL  MINSTREL. 


w 


HILE  Richard  was  busy  fighting  in  Palestine,  things 
were  going  on  very  badly  at  home.      The  offices, 
which  he  had  sold  to  the  highest  bidders,  were  filled  by 


1 1 1 


men  who  thought  only  of  growing  rich,  so  law  and  order 
were  very  poorly  maintained.  Prince  John,  Richard's 
brother,  who  was  surnamed  Lackland  because  his  father 
had  left  him  no  territory,  was  a  very  mean  man,  and  he 
helped  to  make  matters  worse. 

When  Philip  reached  P'rance,  he  became  friendly  with 
John,  and  proposed  that  they  should  invade  Normandy 
together  and  take  possession  of  King  Richard's  lands. 
John  was  quite  ready  to  help  him,  but  the  French  barons 
all  refused  to  fight  for  Philip,  because  he  had  promised 
Richard  not  to  act  as  he  was  doing. 

Rumours  of  the  troubles  in  P^ngland,  and  of  the  bad 
designs  of  Philip  and  John,  came  at  last  to  the  ears  of 
Richard,  who  decided  that  it  was  useless  to  remain  much 
longer  in  Palestine,  and  that  he  had  better  go  home  and 
take  care  of  his  people.  He  therefore  staid  only  long 
enough  to  deliver  the  Christians  w^hom  Saladin  was  besie- 
ging at  Jop'pa.  Then,  having  again  defeated  his  brave  ri\'al, 
he  signed  a  truce  with  him,  w'hich  w^as  to  last  three  years, 
three  months,  three  wrecks,  three  days,  and  three  hours. 

In  spite  of  the  bad  season,  Richard  next  embarked 
upon  a  vessel  to  return  home.  But  the  winds  w^ere  against 
him,  and  after  tossing  about  on  the  waves  for  many  days, 
he  was  shipwrecked  in  the  Ad-ri-at'ic  Sea,  and  with  much 
trouble  managed  to  reach  land. 

Left  thus  without  means  and  without  followers,  faraway 
from  home,  Richard  made  up  his  mind  to  walk  all  the  way 
across  the  Continent.  As  he  had  to  pass  through  the 
lands  of  his  enemy,  the  Duke  of  Austria,  he  put  on  a 
pilgrim's  dress,  hoping  that  no  one  w^ould  recognize  him, 
and  that  he  could  thus  cross  the  country  in  safety. 


I  12 


One  dav,  in  an  Austrian  village  inn,  one  of  Leopold's 
men  recognized  Richard  by  a  ring  he  had  always  worn. 
This  man  told  his  master,  who  had  the  pilgrim  seized  and 
thrust  into  a  prison,  where  he  kept  him  for  many  months. 
Then  Leopold  sold  his  royal  prisoner  to  the  Emperor  of 
Germany,  who  kept  him  in  another  dungeon. 

The  rumour  that  Richard  was  a  prisoner  spread  all  over 
Europe;  but  while  John  and  Philip  rejoiced,  and  planned 
how  to  divide  his  lands,  some  of  Richard's  friends  grieved 
sorely.  His  favourite  minstrel,  a  youth  named  Blon  del', 
anxious  to  find  him,  set  out  alone  and  on  foot,  and  wan- 
dered all  through  Germany,  it  is  said,  singing  as  he  went 
to  earn  his  daily  bread.  Whenever  he  came  to  a  castle, 
Blondel  inquired  what  prisoners  were  kept  there.  Months 
had  gone  by  in  vain  and  weary  search,  when  the  minstrel 
came  at  last  to  Richard's  prison. 

He  had  no  idea  his  quest  was  ended,  and,  sitting  down 
under  the  castle  walls,  he  sadly  played  a  tune  which  was 
known  only  to  him  and  to  his  master,  and  sang  the  first 
verse  of  the  song.  You  can  imagine  his  surprise  and  de- 
light when  he  heard  Richard's  familiar  voice  floating  out 
through  the  grated  window,  singing  the  second  verse. 

Richard  was  found.  The  poor  minstrel,  who  could  not 
free  his  master  alone,  now  hastened  back  to  England. 
Here  Eleanor,  helped  by  some  of  the  English,  made  ar- 
rangements to  have  the  king  set  free,  and  collected  the 
large  sum  of  money  which  the  Emperor  of  Germany  de- 
manded for  a  ransom. 

As  the  whole  sum  could  not  be  sent  at  once,  some  Ger- 
man noblemen  accompanied  Richard  to  receive  it;  and 
when  they  saw  the  city  of  London,  and  the  delight  of  the 


113 


finglish  at  recovering  their  king,  they  cried :  "  If  our  em- 
peror had  known  the  riches  of  England,  your  ransom,  O 
king,  would  have  been  much  greater." 


-<x>>Q><o«- 


XXXVIII.    DEATH   OF  RICHARD. 

WHEN  it  first  became  generally  known  that  Richard 
was  about  to  be  released  from  the  prison  where  he 
had  lain  in  captivity  about 
eighteen  months,  many  peo- 
ple were  terrified.  The  most 
frightened  of  all  were  John, 
the  captive's  brother,  and 
Philip,  King  of  France.  The 
latter,  finding  he  could  not 
induce  the  German  emperor 
to  detain  Richard  any  longer, 
sent  this  message  to  John : 
"  Take  care  of  vourself,  for 
the  devil  is  unchained." 

When  Richard  arrived  in 
England,  he  was  recrowned, 
to  efface  the  stain  of  his  cap- 
tivity. He  found  that  many 
things  had  gone  wrong  in  his 
absence,  and  that  as  the  offi- 
cers he  had  appointed  had 
not  done  their  duty,  there 
had  been  much  crime.     The      statue  of  Richard  Coeur  de  Lion. 


("4) 


castles  were  occupied  by  robber  barons,  and  the  forests 
swarmed  with  bands  of  thieves  or  outlaws,  headed  by  such 
chiefs  as  the  famous  Robin  Hood. 

This  bold  outlaw  is  said  to  have  lived  in  Sherwood 
Forest,  and  such  wonderful  stories  have  been  told  about 
him  in  old  ballads,  that  it  is  very  hard  to  know  what  in 
his  adventures  was  real  and  what  was  made  up.  From 
these  old  tales  we  find  that  Robin  Hood  was  good  to  the 
poor  and  robbed  only  tlie  rich.  The  spoil  which  he  got 
he  hid  away  in  the  forest.  Hence  the  woods  were  known 
as  Robin  Hood's  barn  ;  and  when  people  want  to  say  that 
they  took  a  roundabout  road  to  get  anywhere,  they  still 
exclaim,  "  I  went  all  around  Robin  Hood's  barn." 

Although  Richard  tried  to  suppress  the  disorders  in  his 
kingdom,  he  was  much  greater  as  a  warrior  than  as  a 
statesman ;  so  he  did  not  stay  in  England  long,  but 
crossed  over  to  Normandy  to  make  war  against  Philip. 

When  John  heard  that  his  brother  was  coming,  he  did 
not  dare  fight,  so  he  went  to  meet  Richard,  and,  falling 
at  his  feet,  begged  his  pardon  for  having  tried  to  steal  his 
kingdom  during  his  absence.  Richard  generously  forgave 
his  brother,  but  showed  that  he  did  not  believe  John's 
penitence  sincere  by  remarking  soon  afterwards :  ''  I  wish 
I  may  forget  my  brother's  injuries  as  soon  as  he  will  forget 
my  pardon  of  them." 

During  the  next  four  years  Richard  was  busy  making 
war  against  his  French  rival;  but  at  the  end  of  that  time 
both  kings  made  up  their  minds  to  cease  figliting  and  to 
sign  a  truce.  Then,  hearing  that  one  of  his  vassals  had 
dug  up  a  treasure  on  his  lands,  Richard  sent  to  claim  it ; 
for  the  law  decreed  that  buried  treasures  belonged  to  the 

o 
STO.  OF    ENG.  — 8 


ii6 


crown.  The  Lord  of  Chalus  (shah-liis'),  however,  would 
not  give  up  the  gold,  so  Richard  besieged  him  in  his  castle. 

As  Chalus  was  a  strong  fortress,  like  those  we  have  al- 
ready described,  Richard  could  not  take  it,  in  spite  of  all 
his  bravery,  and  at  the  end  of  two  months  he  was  so  angry 
at  being  detained,  that  he  vowed  he  would  yet  hang  every 
man  in  it.  Because  of  this  vow,  he  refused  to  accept  the 
count's  terms  of  surrender  a  few  days  later,  and  ordered  a 
new  assault.  But  in  this  attack  Richard  was  wounded  by 
an  arrow;  and  although  the  hurt  seemed  trifling  at  first, 
the  doctors,  in  cutting  out  the  arrow,  made  the  wound  so 
much  worse  that  the  king  soon  saw  that  he  must  die. 

While  he  lay  in  his  tent,  awaiting  the  end,  his  men  took 
the  castle,  and,  by  Richard's  order,  they  killed  all  its  de- 
fenders, except  the  man  whose  arrow  had  wounded  him. 
This  archer  was  brought  before  Richard,  who  asked, 
"  What  harm  have  I  done  to  you,  that  you  should  thus 
have  attempted  my  death?  " 

"  You  killed  my  father  and  brother  with  your  own  hand," 
answered  the  archer,  "  and  intended  to  kill  me.  I  am 
ready  to  suffer  with  joy  any  torments  you  can  invent,  since 
I  have  been  so  lucky  as  to  kill  one  who  has  brought  so 
many  miseries  upon  mankind." 

When  Richard  heard  this  he  ordered  that  the  man 
should  be  set  free  ;  but,  as  the  king  breathed  his  last  a 
few  minutes  later,  his  infuriated  men  fell  upon  the  archer 
and  flayed  him  alive.  The  dead  king's  body  was  buried 
in  Rouen  (roo-oN'),  and  on  his  tomb  you  can  see  a  full- 
length  stone  efligy  of  this  man,  who  could  be  in  turn  gal- 
lant, brave,  and  generous,  and  mean,  selfish,  and  cruel. 

Many  stories  have  been  written  about  Richard  and  his 


117 

adventures,  and  there  are  writers  who  have  made  a  hero 
of  him.  But  a  real  hero  would  have  thought  more  of  the 
welfare  of  his  people,  and  when  called  upon  to  fight  would 
have  acted  just  as  bravely,  but  with  less  cruelty. 


-o-o'p^OO- 


XXXIX.    THE   MURDER  OF  ARTHUR. 

RICHARD  THE  LION-HEARTED,  having  no  chil- 
dren, said  that  John  should  succeed  him,  although 
the  crown  belonged  by  right  to  his  little  nephew  Arthur, 
the  son  of  Geoffrey.  A  monarch  not  old  enough  to  reign 
alone  seemed  very  undesirable,  so  the  English  were  at  first 
very  m.uch  pleased  that  John  Lackland  should  have  the 
crown.  They  soon  found  out,  however,  that  he  was  cruel 
and  miserlv,  and,  worse  than  all  the  rest,  verv  untruthful. 
He  had  been  a  bad  son  and  a  bad  brother,  and  now  he  was 
going  to  prove  also  a  bad  king. 

Philip  of  France,  hearing  that  the  people  in  Brittany 
were  anxious  to  place  Prince  Arthur  upon  the  English 
throne,  soon  excited  them  to  declare  war  against  John 
Lackland.  But  he  did  not  give  them  so  much  help  as 
they  expected,  and  the  result  was  that  John  defeated 
them  and  put  his  nephew  in  prison  in  Rouen. 

Young  Arthur  now  languished  in  a  gloom}^  dungeon, 
very  near  the  river,  closely  guarded  night  and  day  lest  he 
should  escape.  But  he  was  so  good  and  gentle  that  even 
the  grim  jailers  grew  fond  of  him,  and  so  John,  fearing  that 
Arthur  might  yet  get  free  and  take  the  crown,  determined 
to  rid  himself  of  the  young  prince. 


ii8 


No  one  knows  exactly  how  he  did  this,  but  there  are 
awful  stories  told.  Some  writers  say  that  little  Arthur's 
eyes  were  put  out  with  red-hot  irons,  in  spite  of  his  pitiful 
entreaties  to  be  spared.  Others  aver  that  the  jailers  killed 
him  by  John's  command.  But  it  is  generally  believed 
that,  cruel  as  they  were,  the  jailers  refused  to  harm  the 
gentle  child,  and  that  John  had  to  commit  the  murder 
himself.  It  is  said  that  he  came  to  the  prison  one  night, 
led  the  child  down  to  a  waiting  boat,  pushed  off  into  mid- 
stream, and  there  drowned  the  unhappy  little  prince. 

When  it  became  known  that  Arthur  was  dead,  either  by 
his  uncle's  hand  or  by  his  order,  the  people  of  Brittany 
clamoured  to  have  John  punished,  and  called  upon  the 
French  king  for  aid.  This  monarch  then  said  that  as  John 
owned  provinces  in  France  for  which  he  was  obliged  to  do 
homage  as  vassal  to  the  French  crown,  he  should  appear 
before  twelve  other  lords,  his  peers,  and  justify  himself, 
or  lose  his  lands  in  France. 

John  must  have  had  an  uneasy  conscience,  for  he  did 
not  present  himself  before  his  peers.  So  the  French  king 
invaded  Normandy,  which  became  his  property  after  be- 
longing to  Norman  dukes  for  nearly  three  hundred  years. 
John's  other  French  provinces  were  also  taken  from  him, 
and  he  soon  had  nothing  left  in  France  except  Guienne 
(gee-en'). 

Besides  the  troubles  in  France,  John  had  worries  at 
home  ;  for  when  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  died,  the 
monks  and  the  pope  selected  one  man,  and  John  another, 
to  occupy  this  position.  The  result  was  a  religious  quar- 
rel, in  which  the  pope  showed  his  displeasure  by  putting 
John's  kingdom  under  an  interdict.      That  is  to  say,  the 


119 

churches  were  closed,  no  services  were  held,  no  bells  rung, 
no  baptisms,  weddings,  or  funerals  allowed,  and  all  the 
people  were  under  a  ban.  Four  years  later,  seeing  that 
John  still  refused  to  obey  him,  the  pope  declared  that  he 
should  no  longer  be  King  of  England,  and  bade  Philip  of 
h^rance  invade  and  take  possession  of  the  country. 


-00?S«<00- 


XL.    THE   GREAT  CHARTER. 

NOW,  although  the  English  had  no  respect  for  John, 
they  did  not  want  to  give  up  their  country  to  the 
French  king,  so  they  began  to  rally  around  their  monarch 
to  help  him  defend  the  country.  The  pope  then  offered 
to  forbid  Philip  to  invade  England,  provided  John  would 
let  Steplien  Langton  be  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  do 
homage  to  the  pope  for  the  kingdom  of  England,  and 
promise  to  pay  a  yearly  tribute. 

Promises  were  very  easy  to  make,  according  to  John's 
ideas ;  so  he  consented  to  everything.  He  made  Lang- 
ton  archbishop,  humbly  laid  his  crown  at  the  feet  of  the 
legate  (the  pope's  messenger),  allowed  him  to  trample  it 
without  wincing,  and  received  it  from  his  hand  once  more, 
after  solemnly  promising  to  be  the  faithful  vassal  of  the 
pope. 

The  interdict  was  recalled,  Philip  was  forbidden  to  in- 
vade England,  and  John  fancied  that  all  was  well.  Put 
the  English  barons  were  disgusted  with  him  for  having 
yielded  to  such  sliameful  conditions.  They  had  always 
prided  themselves  upon  living  in  a  free  country,  and  they 


I20 


did  not  like  to  be  considered  the  vassals  of  the  pope.  Be- 
sides, they  were  indignant  at  the  way  in  which  John  gov- 
erned, and  at  his  methods  for  getting  always  more  money, 
for  you  must  know  that  John  was  as  miserly  as  he  was 
untruthful. 

Whenever  John  heard  that  a  Jew  had  become  very  rich 
by  trading,  he  used  to  send  for  the  unfortunate  man  and 
torture  him  until  he  promised  to  pay  a  large  sum  of  money 
for  his  release.  We  are  told  that  he  imprisoned  one 
wealthy  Jew,  and  had  one  of  his  teeth  pulled  out  every 
day.  At  first  the  man  stood  this  very  bravely,  but  when 
seven  teeth  were  gone,  he  gladly  paid  a  large  sum  to  keep 
the  rest  and  be  set  free. 

The  example  set  by  the  king  was  followed  by  the 
barons ;  and  as  a  customary  mode  of  torture  was  to  drag 
the  Jews  over  a  bed  of  red-hot  coals  to  make  them  give 
up  their  money,  some  people  say  that  it  gave  rise  to  the 
expression  **  to  haul  over  the  coals,"  which  is  now  often 
used  to  describe  a  severe  and  unsparing  reprimand. 

John,  angry  with  Philip  for  taking  Normandy  and  for 
being  so  ready  to  invade  England,  made  an  alliance  with 
the  Emperor  of  Germany  and  the  Count  of  Flanders,  and 
attacked  France.  But  the  English  and  their  allies  were 
defeated  in  the  battle  of  Bouvlnes  (boo-veen'),  in  12 14. 

During  John's  absence,  changes  had  been  going  on  in 
England.  First,  the  new  primate,  Langton,  made  some 
alterations  in  religious  matters,  besides  dividing  the  Bible 
into  chapters  and  verses  as  it  is  now.  Then  the  barons 
found  the  charter  granted  by  Stephen  and  Henry,  and 
decided  that  its  promises  ought  to  be  kept,  and  that  their 
rights  ought  to  be  protected  by  a  few  more  laws. 


<u 

c 

> 

o 
DQ 

o 


(121) 


122 


The  result  of  this  was  that  the  barons  drew  up  a  new 
code  or  set  of  laws,  called  the  Mag'na  Char'ta,  or  Great 
Charter,  in  which  the  rights  of  tlie  king  and  of  all  the 
different  classes  of  the  people  were  clearly  set  forth  ;  and 
when  John  came  home,  after  the  battle  of  Bouvines,  they 
asked  him  to  sign  it. 

The  king  angrily  refused,  whereupon  all  the  barons  left 
him  and  threatened  to  choose  another  king.  Left  with 
only  seven  followers,  John  concluded  he  must  yield  ;  so, 
going  out  to  meet  the  revolted  barons  on  Run^ny-mede 
(a  meadow  where  the  Saxons  had  often  assembled),  he 
reluctantly  signed  the  Magna  Charta,  in  12  15. 

This  code  of  laws  is  considered  the  foundation  of  Eng- 
lish liberty,  and  has  been  very  carefully  preserved.  It 
decreed,  among  many  other  things,  that  no  man  should 
be  imprisoned  unless  he  were  tried  and  found  guilty,  and 
that  girls  of  noble  rank  might  marry  without  the  king's 
consent. 

From  Runnymede  John  retired  to  the  Isle  of  Wight, 
whence  he  sent  a  messenger  to  the  pope,  with  a  copy  of 
the  charter,  a  long  letter  of  complaint  against  the  barons, 
and  a  request  to  be  freed  from  his  promise,  which  he  said 
had  been  wrung  from  him  by  force.  The  pope,  knowing 
many  of  the  barons  were  against  him,  sent  a  bull,  or 
papal  decree,  excommunicating  the  noblemen  and  saying 
that  John  need  not  keep  any  of  the  promises  he  had  made 
to  his  rebellious  subjects. 

This  bull  made  the  barons  so  angry  that  they  vowed  to 
fight  for  their  rights.  Some  called  a  French  prince  into 
the  country,  offered  him  the  crown,  and  hailed  him  as  king 
in   London.      Others   refused   to  accept   him,   and   in   the 


Wm.  Kaulbach,  Artist. 


King  John. 


(123) 


124 

midst  of  the  civil  war  which  ensued,  the  last  remnants  of 
John's  army  deserted  him,  and  his  baggage  and  all  his 
treasures  were  swept  away  by  the  rising  tide  as  he  was 
crossing  the  Wash. 

John  himself  barely  escaped  sharing  the  fate  of  his 
money,  and  he  felt  so  badly  over  his  loss  that  he  rode  on 
to  a  priory,  where  he  fell  ill  and  died.  Some  people  say 
that  he  died  of  grief,  others  that  he  ate  too  many  peaches 
and  pears  and  drank  too  much  cider,  but  a  few  declare  that 
the  prior  poisoned  him  by  order  of  the  barons. 

Although  John  was  only  forty-nine  years  old,  the  Eng- 
lish were  glad  to  be  rid  of  him.  They  did  not  respect  a 
king  who,  besides  being  mean  and  selfish,  was  always  un- 
truthful, and  they  gladly  hailed  as  monarch  his  little  son 
Henry,  who  was  then  only  eight  or  nine  years  old. 


-o-<»?@<Oo- 


XLI.    THE    WEAK    RULE    OF    HENRY    HI. 

HENRY  HI.,  called  Henry  of  Winchester  from  his 
birthplace,  was  far  too  young  to  govern,  so  the  Earl 
of  Pembroke  became  regent  of  the  kingdom.  As  the 
crown  had  been  lost  with  the  rest  of  John's  treasures,  the 
new  monarch  was  crowned  with  a  plain  gold  circlet.  He 
was  very  cfentle  and  merciful,  but  unfortunatelv  very  weak 
in  character,  and  as  untruthful  as  his  father.  This  latter 
fact  was  the  cause  of  many  troubles. 

Pembroke  began  liis  rule  by  ratifying  the  Great  Char- 
ter. Most  of  the  barons,  hearing  of  this,  now  joined  Henry, 
forsaking  the  cause  of  the  French  prince.      But  the  latter 


125 

had  landed  with  an  army,  and  would  not  give  up  all  hopes 
of  the  English  crown  without  striking  a  blow.  So  the  civil 
war  went  on  until  the  French  troops  were  defeated  at  Lin- 
coln, when  they  gave  up  the  struggle  and  went  home. 

Pembroke,  having  rid  the  country  of  the  French,  now 
ruled  so  wisely  that  he  was  sorely  missed  when  he  died 
three  years  later.  Other  noblemen  took  his  place,  but 
thev  were  not  so  able  as  he,  and  often  made  trouble. 

Not  long  after  the  king  was  declared  old  enough  to  rule 
alone,  he  sent  all  his  advisers  away.  He  was  so  young 
and  so  far  from  clever  that  he  made  a  very  poor  ruler. 
His  foreign  favourites  were  always  asking  for  money,  so 
he  spent  more  than  he  should.  Whenever  he  ran  short 
of  funds  he  called  the  barons  together,  and  the  assembly 
of  these  noblemen,  called  Par'lia-ment,  supplied  him  with 
new  sums  in  exchange  for  new  privileges. 

The  barons  finally  became  so  angry  at  the  greediness  of 
the  foreigners  that  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  advised 
Henry  to  dismiss  them  if  he  would  not  lose  the  confidence 
of  his  people  and  of  the  pope.  Henry  obeyed;  but  not 
long  after  he  married  a  French  wife,  who  brought  many 
of  her  friends  over  to  England.  Thev  soon  won  the  favour 
of  the  weak  king,  and,  seeing  that  all  the  money  given  to 
the  king  was  spent  foolishly.  Parliament  refused  to  let  him 
have  any  more.  Henry  now  tried  to  get  it  by  borrowing, 
by  extorting  -it  from  the  Jews,  by  selling  his  plate  and 
jewels,  and  finally  by  benevolences,  as  he  called  the  gifts 
of  money  which  he  forced  his  rich  subjects  to  bestow  upon 
him.  The  priests  also  claimed  a  large  part  of  the  money 
in  England,  and  sent  it  to  the  pope  as  the  tax  due  to  him 
as  head  of  the  church. 


126 


These  heavy  taxes  grew  so  unbearable  that  the  barons, 
headed  by  Simon  de  Mont'fort  (a  clever  French  nobleman 
who  had  married  the  king's  sister  and  had  become  a  good 
Englishman)  marched  into  Parliament,  arms  in  hand,  deter- 
mined to  end  this  bad  government.  When  the  king  saw 
their  grim  faces  he  was  frightened,  and  tremblingly  asked, 
**  Am  I  your  prisoner?  " 

"  No  ;  you  are  our  sovereign,"  answered  Simon  de  Mont- 
fort ;  but  he  went  on  to  explain  that  they  were  ready  to 
obey  him  and  give  him  money,  only  if  the  kingdom  were 
governed  properly.  New  plans  w^ere  made  by  the  Parlia- 
ment;  but  as  they  brought  about  greater  confusion,  it  is 
known  in  history  as  the  Mad  Parliament. 

« 

o-0>^0o 


XLII.    A    RACE. 

AS  Henry  III.  governed  so  badly,  twenty-four  barons 
/~\  were  chosen  to  rule  in  his  name;  but  as  Simon  de 
Montfort  was  by  far  the  most  powerful  among  them,  he 
exercised  all  the  authority.  Although  Henry  had  prom- 
ised to  abide  by  the  decisions  of  the  twenty-four  barons, 
he  soon  failed  to  do  so  ;  and,  supported  by  some  of  the 
n<^blemen  who  were  jealous  of  Montfort,  he  collected  an 
army  and  made  war  against  this  powerful  subject.  But  in 
the  battle  of  Lew'es  (1264)  Montfort  defeated  the  royal 
troops  and  took  Henry  HI.  and  his  son  Prince  Edward 
prisoners.  Then,  hoping  to  win  some  more  support, 
Montfort  called  a  new  Parliament,  to  which  he  admitted 
two  knights  from   each  county,  two   burghers   from  each 


127 

city,  and  two  men  from  each  borough,  or  \'illage  of  ten 
famihes.  The  new  members  (^f  Parhament  sat  with  the 
bishops  and  nobles,  but  later  (jn  lhe\'  had  an  assembly  of 
their  own,  which  was  called  the  House  of  Commons.  Still, 
in  1265  the  first  real  Parliament  sat  in  PLngland,  and  de- 
cided to  meet  three  times  a  year,  whether  called  by  the 
king  or  not,  to  discuss  the  affairs  of  the  realm. 

The  king's  party,  however,  were  not  pleased  with  this 
new  arrangement,  so  they  began  to  plot  against  Simon  de 
Montfort.  One  day  when  Prince  Edward  was  out  riding 
with  some  of  the  noblemen  who  kept  guard  over  him,  he 
made  them  ride  races  W'ith  one  another  until  their  horses 
were  tired  out.  His  own  horse  was  still  quite  fresh,  and 
when  a  single  horseman  appeared  at  the  top  of  the  hill 
and  signalled  to  him,  he  drove  his  spurs  into  his  steed  and 
rode  rapidly  away,  crying,  "  Farewell,  gentlemen  ;  I  ha\e 
enjoyed  the  pleasure  of  your  company  long  enough." 

The  guards,  of  course,  tried  to  overtake  the  runaway 
prince;  but  before  their  tired  steeds  had  gone  far,  they 
saw  him  meet  a  troop  of  his  friends  and  ride  away  with 
them.  Many  of  the  barons  now  went  to  join  Prince  Ed- 
ward, wdio  declared  war  against  Montfort,  although  Mont- 
fort had  forced  Henry  to  issue  a  decree  sa\'ing  that  any 
one  who  made  war  against  him  was  a  traitor. 

The  two  armies  met  at  Evesham  (evz'um)  in  1265,  and 
the  helpless  king  would  have  been  slain  in  the  fray  had  he 
not  cried  aloud  :  "  Hold!  I  am  Henry  of  Winchester,  }our 
king  ;  don't  kill  me  !  "  Prince  Edward  heard  this  cry  of  dis- 
tress, and,  rushing  forward,  rescued  his  father  and  brought 
him  into  a  place  of  safety.  But  Simon  de  Montfort  and 
his  son  were  both  slain  in  this  battle. 


128 


Prince  Edward  now  planned  new  warfare  in  the  East. 
He  joined  the  seventh  and  last  crusade,  and,  like  his  great- 
uncle  Richard,  covered  himself  with  glory  by  his  brave 
deeds  in  Palestine.  He  was  accompanied  thither  by  his 
wife,  Eleanor.  She  was  as  brave  as  he,  and  once,  when  he 
had  been  wounded  by  an  assassin's  poisoned  dagger,  she 
sucked  the  poison  out  of  the  wound  at  the  risk  of  her  life. 

During  the  prince's  absence  Henry  feebly  tried  to  rule, 
until,  finding  death  near,  he  finally  sent  a  message  to  Pal- 
estine, to  hasten  his  son's  return.  Henry  had  an  inglori- 
ous reign  of  fifty-seven  years,  yet  during  that  time  there 
were  grand  changes  in  England  :  first,  the  beginning  of 
the  House  of  Commons,  then  the  building  of  beautiful 
Gothic  cathedrals  by  the  Masons'  Guild,  and  lastly  the 
discovery  of  gunpowder  and  of  reading-glasses,  telescopes, 
and  many  other  useful  instruments,  hy  a  learned  monk 
named  Roofer  Bacon. 

Because  Bacon  was  so  very  much  more  learned  than 
the  rest  of  the  people  of  his  day,  some  of  them  foolishly 
accused  him  of  being  a  magician,  locked  him  up  in  prison 
for  ten  long,  weary  years,  and  deprived  him  of  all  his  books 
and  instruments.  He  is  the  author  of  Latin  works  on 
science,  in  which  he  set  down  all  his  wonderful  discoveries. 


-a-o^pQ^Oc 


XLHI.    PERSECUTION    OF    THE  JEWS. 

THE  news  that  Henry  HI.  was  ill  took  some  time  to 
reach  Prince  Edward,  who  thereupon  made  imme- 
diate arrangements  to  return  home  with  his  beloved  wife, 


129 

Eleanor.  But  when  they  reached  Sic'i-ly  they  met  another 
messeneer,  who  told  them  that  their  haste  was  unneces- 
sary,  as  Henry  had  ah'eady  breathed  his  last. 

Hearing  these  tidings,  Edward  paused  to  rest  awhile  in 
Sicily;  then,  crossing  over  to  France,  he  often  stopped  in 
the  course  of  his  journey  to  be  entertained  by  the  French 
noblemen.  Wherever  he  went  he  w^as  feasted  and  made 
much  of,  because  the  people  knew  he  had  fought  like  a 
true  knight  in  Palestine. 

When  Edward  came  to  Bur'gun-dy,  he  gladly  accepted 
an  inx'itation  to  take  part  in  a  tournament,  or  sham  fight, 
in  which  he  and  a  thousand  of  his  knights  were  to  test 
their  skill  against  the  Count  of  Chalons  (shah-lawN')  and 
an  equal  number  of  Bur-gun'di-an  knights.  But  wdien 
Edward  came  to  the  appointed  place,  he  found  that  instead 
of  a  sham  fight  he  and  his  followers  would  have  to  do 
battle  if  they  would  escape  from  the  hands  of  the  traitor. 
Dashing  forward  with  his  well-known  courage,  Edward 
called  to  his  men  to  follow  him,  and,  making  good  use  of 
his  great  strength,  he  won  a  brilliant  victory.  This  con- 
flict is  known  in  history  as  the  Little  Battle  of  Chalons. 

Two  years  after  Henry's  death, —  for  travelling  was  very 
slow  in  those  days, —  Edward  arrived  in  England,  where 
he  was  received  with  loud  cries  of  joy.  At  his  coronation, 
which  soon  took  place,  the  houses  of  London  were  hung 
with  tapestry,  the  streets  strewn  with  flowers,  the  fountains 
flowed  with  wine  instead  of  water,  oxen  and  sheep  were 
roasted  whole,  and  shows  of  all  kinds  and  illuminations 
were  given  in  his  honour. 

King  Edward  at  once  began  to  restore  law  and  order  in 
his  kingdom.      Hearing  that  some  of  the  barons  had  taken 


130 

unlawful  possession  of  the  land  of  their  neighbours,  he  said 
that  all  those  who  could  not  show  deeds  for  their  estates 
should  give  them  up.  But  when  Edw^ard  asked  one  earl 
what  instrument  he  could  show  to  prove  his  claim  to  the 
land  his  family  had  occupied  for  many  years,  the  noble- 
man proudly  drew  his  sword  and  said:  "This  is  the  in- 
strument by  which  my  ancestors  gained  their  estate,  and 
by  which  I  will  keep  it."  This  haughty  answer  showed 
Edward  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  turn  out  the  men 
who  had  held  their  estates  a  long  time,  so  he  changed  the 
law. 

Another  thing  that  Edward  did  was  to  punish  the  people 
who  had  grown  rich  by  "  clipping  the  coin,"  or  cutting  off 
a  little  of  the  metal  around  each  piece  of  gold  or  silver 
money.  The  money  was  also  changed,  and  Edward  said 
that  pennies  should  no  longer  be  cut  into  halves  and  quar- 
ters for  halfpence  and  farthings,  but  that  all  coins,  however 
small,  should  be  round. 

The  Jews  w-ere  very  numerous  in  England  in  the  begin- 
ning of  Edward's  reign.  They  did  nearly  all  the  trading 
and  money-lending,  and  were  very  uncharitably  hated  by 
the  Christians,  who  accused  them  of  clipping  the  coin. 
Edward,  who  had  been  a  crusader,  fancied  it  was  his  duty 
to  persecute  all  Jews ;  so,  after  illtreating  them  for  thir- 
teen years,  he  suddenly  bade  them  leave  England,  allow- 
ing them  to  take  only  their  gold  and  jewels  with  them. 

Sixteen  thousand  Jews  w^ere  thus  unjustly  driven  out 
of  the  kingdom.  In  their  stead  the  Lom'bards  began  to 
trade  and  lend  money,  and  one  of  the  important  streets  in 
London  is  still  known  by  their  name,  because  so  many  of 
them  used  to  dwell  there. 


131 


XLIV.    THE    CONQUEST    OF    WALES. 

EDWARD'S  great  ambition  was  to  rule  over  the  whole 
island,  so  he  soon  began  to  plan  how  he  could  get 
possession  of  Wales  and  of  Scotland.  Now,  as  you  know, 
Wales  is  a  mountainous  country  in  the  western  part  of 
Great  Britain.  Hither  the  ancient  Britons  had  fled  when 
driven  out  of  the  southeast  by  the  Saxons,  and  here  they 
still  spoke  the  old  Briton  language,  sang  about  Briton 
heroes,  such  as  Arthur,  and  proudly  kept  their  old  liberty. 

Llew-el'lyn,  one  of  the  Welsh  princes,  had  taken  part  in 
the  barons'  rebellion  under  Simon  de  Montfort,  and  had 
received  the  latter's  permission  to  marry  his  daughter  as 
soon  as  her  education  was  finished.  The  young  lady  was 
then  at  school  in  France,  but  as  soon  as  she  was  old  enough 
to  marry,  she  prepared  to  join  her  gallant  lover. 

Edward,  knowing  that  she  was  coming  over  from  France, 
had  her  captured  and  brought  to  his  court,  where  he  said 
that  he  would  detain  her  until  Llewellyn  came  and  did 
homage  to  him  as  his  lord.  Llewellyn  proudly  refused, 
and  a  war  ensued ;  but,  for  the  sake  of  his  betrothed, 
Llewellyn  finally  complied  with  Edward's  conditions. 

The  Welsh  were  too  proud,  however,  not  to  resent  being 
under  the  English,  and  before  very  long  they  rebelled, 
under  the  leadership  of  Llewellyn  and  his  brother  David. 
The  Welsh  had  been  greatly  encouraged  by  the  heroic  songs 
of  their  bards,  and  by  an  old  prophecy,  said  to  have  been 
made  by  Mer'lin,  in  which  it  was  foretold  that  a  Welsh 
prince  would  be  crowned  king  in  London  when  all  the 
money  was  round. 

STO.   OF    ENG.— g 


132 

The  Welsh  seized  the  first  good  opportunity  to  make  a 
raid  into  England,  captured  the  Castle  of  Haw'ar-den,  and 
killed  all  the  English  in  it.  Edward  collected  an  army  and 
marched  into  Wales  to  avenge  this  attack,  but  he  lost  many 
men  in  crossing  Men'ai  Strait,  and  could  not  get  at  the 
Welsh,  who  had  taken  refuge  upon  Mount  Snow'don, 
whence  they  came  down  for  sudden  raids. 

It  was  owing  to  a  traitor  that  Llewellyn's  brave  little 
troop  was  finally  conquered.  Llewellyn's  head  was  cut 
off  and  sent  to  London,  where,  to  make  fun  of  the  Welsh 
prophecy,  it  was  set  up  on  the  Tower  and  crowned  with 
ivy  or  willow,  or,  some  say,  with  a  silver  circle  to  make  it 
look  like  a  coin. 

Six  months  later  David  also  was  taken  prisoner.  He 
underwent  terrible  torture  before  he  was  hanged.  Then, 
as  if  this  brutal  treatment  were  not  enough,  his  insides 
were  taken  out,  and  his  body  cut  into  four  pieces,  which 
were  sent  to  the  four  most  important  cities  to  be  exposed 
there.  It  was  thus  that  by  King  Edward's  order  David 
was  hanged,  drawn,  and  quartered. 

The  Welsh  were  too  exhausted  to  resist  any  longer,  so 
the  principal  lords  promised  to  be  faithful  to  Edward, 
if  he  would  give  them  as  governor  a  prince  born  in  their 
own  land.  Edward  readily  promised  this ;  and  when  he 
added  that  the  prince  whom  he  intended  to  set  over  them 
did  not  know  a  word  of  French  or  English,  they  set  up  a 
shout  of  joy  and  clamoured  to  see  him.  Edward  then 
stepped  into  the  next  room ;  but  he  soon  came  back,  care- 
fully carrying  his  infant  son  Edward,  who  had  been  born 
in  the  Castle  of  Car-narVon  a  few  days  before,  and  who 
was  thus  a  native  Welshman. 


p.  B.  Morris,  Artist. 


The  First  Prince  of  Wales. 


{^33) 


134 

Of  course  the  babe  could  not  speak  a  word  of  French  or 
English,  but  neither  could  he  speak  any  Welsh.  He  was 
gladly  welcomed,  however,  as  '*  Prince  of  Wales,"  His 
elder  brother  soon  died,  so  he  became  heir  to  the  English 
crown,  and  ever  since  then  the  eldest  son  of  an  English 
monarch  has  borne  the  title  of  "  Prince  of  Wales." 

Some  writers  say  that  Edward  ordered  the  massacre  of 
all  the  Welsh  bards,  because  he  feared  their  exciting  the 
people  to  new  rebellion  ;  but  others  deny  this,  and  certainly 
some  of  these  musicians  must  have  escaped,  for  many  of 
their  songs  have  come  down  to  us.  The  Welsh  became 
loyal  subjects,  and  it  was  a  hundred  years  or  more  before 
they  again  rose  up  to  fight  against  the  English. 


-ooJ:Q(<CK>- 


XLV.    A    QUARREL   WITH    FRANCE. 

THE  Welsh  war  was  scarcely  ended  when  trouble  began 
with  France.  This  war  arose  from  a  very  slight 
cause.  It  seems  that  a  Norman  bark  and  an  English  ship 
once  put  in  at  the  same  port  to  renew  their  supply  of  fresh 
water.  Two  sailors  began  to  quarrel  while  filling  their 
casks,  and  soon  came  to  blows.  The  crews  of  both  vessels, 
instead  of  stopping  the  fight,  joined  in  it,  and  a  Norman 
was  killed.  A  few  days  later  the  angry  Normans  took 
revenge  by  capturing  and  hanging  an  English  merchant, 
and  they  added  insult  to  injury  by  placing  a  dog  at  his 
feet.  The  news  of  this  affront  enraged  the  English  sea- 
men, and  for  some  time  after  that,  whenever  Normans  and 
Englishmen  met,  there  were  quarrels  and  fights. 


135 

Although  both  the  French  and  the  EngUsh  king  tried 
to  avoid  taking  part  in  this  contest,  it  soon  grew  so  bitter 
that  the  French  king  summoned  Edward  to  come  to 
France,  as  Duke  of  Guienne,  to  answer  for  the  damages 
done  by  his  subjects.  Edward,  either  unable  or  unwilling 
to  go  himself,  sent  his  brother,  who  foolishly  allowed  the 
French  monarch  to  occupy  Guienne  for  forty  days,  upon 
his  promise  to  give  it  back  at  the  end  of  that  time. 

But  when  the  forty  days  were  ended,  the  French  king 
refused  to  give  up  the  province,  and  Edward,  eager  to 
regain  it,  began  to  raise  an  army.  As  he  had  no  money 
to  pay  troops,  he  tried  to  levy  a  force  in  the  same  way  as 
William  the  Conqueror.  Calling  the  noblemen  to  help  him, 
he  bade  them  bring  their  vassals,  and  told  the  Earl  of 
Her'e-ford  to  lead  the  army  into  Guienne. 

The  Earl  of  Hereford,  however,  flatly  refused  to  obey ; 
and  when  Edward  angrily  cried,  '*  By  heaven.  Sir  Earl, 
you  shall  either  *go  or  be  hanged!"  he  retorted  hotly, 
"  By  heaven,  Sir  King,  I  will  neither  go  nor  yet  will  I  be 
hanged!"  And  having  said  these  words,  he  coolly  left 
the  court  and  went  home. 

When  Edward  saw  that  he  could  not  raise  troops  in  this 
wa}^  he  began  to  tax  the  clergy  to  get  money  to  hire 
men;  and  when  they  complained,  he  said  he  would  not 
protect  them  unless  they  did  as  he  wished,  but  would  allow 
any  one  to  take  their  property.  In  dismay  the  priests 
appealed  to  the  pope,  while  the  barons,  banding  together, 
sent  word  to  Edward  that  he  should  have  neither  funds 
nor  help  unless  he  solemnly  swore  to  ratify  the  Great 
Charter,  and  never  again  to  attempt  to  raise  money  except 
through  Parliament.      Edward  was  forced  to  yield  to  these 


136 


demands;  and  in  1295  was  held  the  first  English  Parlia- 
ment that  was  composed  of  a  House  of  Lords  and  a 
House  of  Commons.  Ever  since  then  Parliament  has  ex- 
ercised the  right  of  taxing  the  people,  whom  it  represents 
by  bishops,  lords,  and  elected  members. 

Edward  himself  now  conducted  his  army  into  France, 
but  before  much  fighting  could  be  done  the  pope  interfered. 
By  his  advice  the  two  kings  became  friends,  ind  then  Ed- 
ward went  back  to  England. 

Shortly  before  this  good  Queen  Eleanor  died.  She  had 
been  Edward's  wife  for  more  than  twenty  year?,  and  had 
borne  him  fifteen  children.  To  show  his  affection  for  her, 
the  king  ordered  that  a  cross  should  be  erected  wherever 
her  body  rested  on  its  way  from  Lincoln  to  Westminster 
Abbey,  where  she  lies  buried.  The  best  known  of  these 
interesting  monuments  is  **  Charing  Cross  "  in  London. 


Charing  Cross,  London. 


137 


XLVI.    THE   CORONATION   STONE. 

HIS  wife  being  dead,  Edward  now  married  the  sister  of 
the  French  king,  and  promised  that  Edward  Carnar- 
von, the  Prince  of  Wales,  should  marry  a  daughter  of  the 
same  monarch.  In  all  these  years  Edward  had  never  lost 
sight  of  his  principal  ambition,  to  annex  Scotland,  and 
when  the  Scotch  king  died,  a  few  years  before,  he  had 
tried  to  make  a  match  between  his  son  and  the  baby 
queen  of  that  realm.  This  little  creature  was  called  the 
Maid  of  Norway,  because  she  had  gone  to  live  in  that 
country ;  but  on  her  way  back  to  Scotland  to  be  crowned, 
she  was  taken  ill,  and  died  on  the  Orknev  Islands. 

Thirteen  different  members  of  the  royal  family  claimed 
the  vacant  throne  of  the  Maid  of  Norway.  Bruce  and 
Ba'li-ol  were  the  only  ones  who  had  any  real  right  to  suc- 
ceed her,  but  as  the  Scotch  could  not  decide  which  of  the 
two  should  reign,  they  asked  Edward  to  act  as  umpire  and 
settle  the  matter. 

After  some  consideration,  Edward  decided  in  favour  of 
Baliol,  but  let  him  have  the  crown  only  on  condition  that 
Baliol  should  do  homage  to  him  for  Scotland.  The  new 
Scotch  king  soon  regretted  having  yielded  to  this  demand, 
for  several  times,  for  mere  trifles,  Edward  made  him  come 
to  London  to  give  an  account  of  himself. 

Annoyed  by  this  interference,  Baliol  soon  began  to  plot, 
and,  helped  by  the  Scots,  who  did  not  like  to  see  their 
sovereign  the  vassal  of  an  English  king,  he  in\aded  Eng- 
land four  years  after  he  had  been  crowmed  at  Scone. 
Edward  made  use  of  this  attack  as  an  excuse  to  make  war 


138 


against  Scotland,  and  after  defeating  Baliol  at  Dun-bar', 
brought  him  a  prisoner  to  London. 

All  Scotland  was  soon  re- 
duced to  obedience  and  annexed 
to  England.  Its  great  seal  was 
broken,  and  its  famous  corona- 
tion stone  was  carried  away  to 
Westminster  Abbey  and  placed 
in  the  seat  of  a  throne.  The  loss 
of  this  stone  was  a  great  sorrow 
to  the  Scots.  They  said  it  was 
the  stone  that  Jacob  had  used 
for  a  pillow  when  he  dreamed 
that  he  saw  the  angels  of  God 
ascending  and  descending  a  won- 
derful ladder  whfch  reached  from 
heaven  to  earth.  Besides  that,  there  was  an  ancient  proph- 
ecy which  said : 


The  Coronation  Chair,  West- 
minster Abbey. 


Should  fate  not  fail,  where'er  this  stone  be  found, 
The  Scot  shall  monarch  of  that  realm  be  crowned." 


The  Scots,  who  had  always  been  independent,  were  not 
satisfied  to  send  members  to  the  new  English  Parliament; 
so  one  of  their  patriot  princes,  the  heroic  William  Wallace, 
called  them  to  help  him  free  their  country. 

After  defeating  the  English  forces  at  Stirling  Bridge, 
and  ravaging  the  northern  provinces  of  England,  Wallace 
was  named  Guardian  of  Scotland.  But,  one  year  after  his 
first  victory,  he  was  defeated  by  Edward  at  the  battle  of 
Farkirk,  and  Scotland  was  again  forced  to  yield.  During 
the  next  few  years  Wallace  dwelt  in  the  mountains  and 


139 


waged  an  incessant  petty  war  against  the  English ;  but  he 
was  finally  betrayed  into  their  hands. 

Then  he  was  taken  to  London,  tried,  and  condemned 
to  death  for  treason.  He  was  drawn  and  quartered  in  the 
most  barbarous  way,  and  his  head  was  set  up  on  London 


Daniel  Maclise^  Artist. 


Trial  of  Sir  William  Wallace. 


Bridge.  Yet,  although  he  was  dead,  the  Scots  did  not  for- 
get him ;  and  when  they  heard  how  cruelly  he  had  been 
treated,  they  rallied  once  more  to  fight  the  English. 

Robert  Bruce,  a  grandson  of  the  Bruce  who  had  dis- 
puted the  throne  with  Baliol,  was  then  a  hostage  at 
Edward's  court.  One  day  he  received  a  purse  of  gold  and 
a  pair  of  spurs — a  message  which  he  readily  understood; 
and,  biding  his  time,  he  escaped  on  a  fast  horse  whose  shoes 
had  been  reversed  so  that  he  should  not  be  tracked. 


I40 

When  Bruce  arrived  in  Scotland,  he  met  his  ally  Com'- 
yn,  the  son-in-law  of  BaHol,  in  a  church.  There  they  quar- 
relled, and  Bruce,  drawing  his  dagger,  struck  Comyn  down, 
and  then  rushed  out  and  told  his  followers  what  he  had 
done.  They  cried  that  Comyn  was  a  traitor,  and  went  into 
the  building,  where  they  stabbed  him  again  and  again  to 
make  sure  he  should  not  escape.  Bruce  was  crowned  in 
1306,  and  the  Scots  promptly  rallied  around  him.  But  in 
spite  of  all  his  valour,  and  the  devotion  of  his  subjects, 
the  English  defeated  him  and  forced  him  to  flee  to  Ireland. 

After  this  victory  Edward  showed  himself  very  cruel 
to  the  Scots,  whom  he  treated  as  rebels ;  and  when  they 
persisted  in  rebellion,  under  Bruce's  untiring  leadership, 
he  was  very  angry.  Although  already  so  ill  that  he  had 
to  be  carried  in  a  horse-litter,  he  would  not  rest  until  he 
had  seen  his  orders  carried  out.  But  when  he  reached 
Car-lisle',  feehng  that  his  end  was  near,  he  called  his  son 
to  his  bedside,  bade  him  never  rest  until  all  Scotland  was 
conquered,  and  asked  that  his  body  be  carried  ahead  of 
the  army  which  he  had  hoped  to  lead  himself.  Thus  died 
Edward  I.,  who,  although  brave  and  clever, was  a  very  cruel 
king.  He  reigned  thirty-five  years,  and  was  succeeded  by 
his  son  Edward,  the  first  Prince  of  Wales  (1307). 


-o-o>@<Oo- 


XLVII.    THE    INSOLENT   FAVOURITE. 

EDWARD  II.  of  Carnarvon  brought  many  misfortunes 
upon   himself  and   upon  all  his  people  by  his   weak 
character.      He  began  his  reign  by  breaking  the  promises 


141 

he  had  made  to  his  father.  Instead  of  going  on  to  Scot- 
land, he  journeyed  back  to  London  and  buried  the  body 
of  Edward  I.  in  Westminster  Abbey. 

Even  as  a  very  young  man,  Edward  had  allowed  himself 
to  be  governed  by  one  of  his  attendants  named  Piers 
Gav^es-ton.  This  young  man  was  handsome  and  clever, 
but  not  at  all  good  or  truthful.  To  get  presents,  he 
flattered  the  prince  incessantly,  and  used  to  amuse  him  by 
making  fun  of  all  the  greatest  men  in  the  kingdom. 

When  Edward  I.  perceived  what  a  bad  influence  Gaves- 
ton  had  over  his  son,  he  sent  this  idle  favourite  out  of  the 
country,  and,  before  dying,  begged  the  prince  never  to 
recall  him.  As  Edward  II.  had  already  broken  two 
promises,  he  soon  failed  to  keep  the  third,  and  Gaveston 
was  not  only  invited  back  to  court,  but  was  loaded  with 
honours  and  made  principal  adviser  of  the  king. 

Now  if  Gaveston  had  tried  to  influence  the  king  for 
good,  and  had  been  modest  and  polite  to  the  nobles,  he 
might  have  remained  in  this  position  for  a  long  time ;  but 
he  was  insolent,  and  greedy  for  money  and  honours,  and 
he  induced  the  king  to  treat  the  barons  so  badly  that 
they  all  began  to  hate  him  with  all   their  might. 

Their  dismay  was  great,  therefore,  when  the  king  named 
his  favourite  Regent  of  England  while  he  went  over  to 
France  to  marry  Isabella,  a  daughter  of  the  French  mon- 
arch. Yet  even  the  pretty  young  oride  could  not  com- 
fort Edward  for  his  favourite's  absence,  so  he  hastened 
back  to  England.  At  the  coronation  feast,  which  followed 
his  return,  he  bestowed  new  honours  upon  Gaveston,  and 
this  so  exasperated  both  queen  and  barons  that  they 
threatened  to  rebel  unless  the  king  sent  his  friend  away. 


142 


To  make  sure  that  Gaveston  should  never  come  back, 
the  nobles  made  Edward  and  his  favourite  swear  they 
would  never  see  each  other  again  ;   but  tlie  pope  having 


Marcus  Stone,  Artist. 


Edward  II.  and  Piers  Gaveston. 


consented  to  absolve  them  both  from  this  oath,  Edward 
soon  recalled  Gaveston,  who  re-entered  England  only  to 
show  himself  more  worthless  than  ever. 

As  the  king  kept  supplying  his  extravagant  favourite 
with  money,  his  funds  soon  gave  out.  He  therefore  called 
a  Parliament  at  York ;  but  the  members  declared  they 
would  not  give  him  any  more  money  so  long  as  Gaveston 
was  in  England.  The  king  in  anger  dissolved  (dismissed) 
the  Parliament,  and  called  another  at  Westminster.  As 
he  had  in  the  meantime  sent -his  favourite  abroad,  this 
Parliament  gave  him  funds,  after  making  him  promise  to 
call  a  Parliament  at  least  once  a  year. 

The  barons,  who  had  come  to  Westminster  determined 
to  wrest  this  and  sundry  other  promises  from  their  monarch, 


143 

looked  so  fierce  that  he  did  not  da're  to  refuse.  He  there- 
fore sent  orders  to  Gaveston  not  to  come  back,  and  set 
out  for  Scotland,  where  his  presence  was  needed.  But 
even  before  he  reached  the  border,  his  longing  for  Gaves- 
ton made  him  again  break  his  word  and  recall  his  favourite 
for  the  third  time. 

This  breach  of  faith  roused  the  barons  to  action.  Seeing 
that  their  king  would  be  the  tool  of  this  bad  man  as  long 
as  the  latter  lived,  they  captured  Gaveston,  who  was  soon 
after  executed  at  Warwick  (wor'ik)  Castle,  by  order  of  the 
king's  cousin,  the  Earl  of  Lanc'-as-ter.  Edward  was  so 
furious  with  the  barons  for  putting  his  favourite  to  death 
that  he  wanted  to  make  war  against  them  ;  but  trouble  in 
Scotland  soon  forced  him  not  only  to  make  peace  with 
the  nobles,  but  to  implore  them  to  help  him. 


-o-o>a<oo- 


XLVIII.    BRUCE    AND    THE    SPIDER. 

YOU  remember,  do  you  not,  how  Edward  I.  defeated 
Robert  Bruce?  Although  this  brave  man  had  been 
driven  out  of  Scotland,  he  was  not  ready  to  give  up. 
Several  times  he  tried  to  win  back  his  kingdom,  and 
several  times  he  failed.  An  interesting  story  is  told  of 
how  he  gained  the  courage  to  persevere  so  patiently. 

He  was  lying  in  a  poor  thatch-roofed  cottage  one  day, 
wondering  whether  he  had  not  better  cease  all  efforts. 
Suddenly  his  eye  rested  upon  a  spider  which  was  weaving 
its  web.  It  climbed  away  up  to  the  roof,  but  before  it 
could  fasten  its  thread  there,  it  lost  its  hold  and  fell  to  the 


144 

ground.  A  moment  later,  he  saw  the  spider  climb  up 
and  try  again.  Nine  times  the  insect  fell;  but  at  the 
tenth  attempt  the  thread  was  fastened  and  the  web  woven. 

Bruce,  who  had  watched  the  nine  failures,  gladly  saw 
the  patient  spider  succeed,  and  declared  that  the  little 
creature  had  taught  him  a  good  lesson,  and  that  he  too 
would  persist,  in  spite  of  repeated  disappointments,  until 
he  should  triumph  at  last.  So,  instead  of  giving  up,  Bruce 
tried  again,  and  soon  found  that  his  luck  had  turned. 

He  and  his  faithful  followers  took  one  castle  after  an- 
other, and  every  day  their  little  force  increased,  until  they 
could  boast  of  an  army.  Some  of  the  strongholds  garri- 
soned by  the  English  were  taken  by  force,  and  others  by 
strategy. 

For  instance,  when  the  Scotch  were  very  anxious  to 
secure  Lin-lith'gow,  they  hid  some  of  their  men  under 
a  load  of  hay,  and  bade  a  farmer  drive  the  cart  for  them. 
The  castle  gates  were  readily  opened  to  admit  the  load 
of  hay  with  its  farmer  driver.  But  the  peasant  pretended 
to  be  awkward,  and  turned  the  cart  in  such  a  way  that 
the  gates  could  not  be  closed.  At  that  moment  the  hidden 
men  sprang  out,  sword  in  hand;  and  as  they  were  soon 
joined  by  their  companions,  who  were  hiding  near  there, 
they  boldly  attacked  the  garrison  and  took  the  castle. 

The  news  of  Bruce's  earlier  successes  did  not  greatly 
trouble  Edward  ;  but  when  he  heard  that  Stirling,  the  last 
great  English  fortress,  would  surrender  if  not  succoured 
within  a  certain  number  of  davs,  he  set  out  for  Scotland. 
He  was  at  the  head  of  an  army  of  one  hundred  thousand 
men,  while  Bruce  had  only  thirty  thousand  with  whom  to 
oppose  him. 


145 

Nevertheless,  knowing  that  a  battle  would  be  best,  Bruce 
got  ready  to  meet  Edward.  First  he  chose  a  good  battle- 
field, and  then  he  had  his  men  dig  pits  which  they  covered 
with  brush  and  grass,  hoping  that  the  English  cavalry 
would  tumble  into  them.  Lastly,  Bruce  hid  the  camp 
followers  and  baggage  wagons  behind  a  hill,  that  they 
might  not  cause  disorder  in  the  ranks. 

When  all  was  ready,  the  Scots  knelt  in  prayer,  and 
the  English  army,  coming  up,  fancied  they  were  begging 
for  mercy.  An  Englishman,  impatient  to  strike  the  first 
blow,  rushed  forward  on  his  battle  steed  before  the  signal 
was  given,  and  attacked  the  Bruce.  Although  he  had  not 
yet  mounted  his  war  horse,  and  was  riding  a  mere  pony, 
Bruce  boldly  advanced,  and,  avoiding  the  Englishman's 
blow,  cleft  his  skull  in  two  with  his  battle-ax.  The  Scotch, 
who  had  trembled  for  the  life  of  their  king,  now  applauded 
him  wildly,  and,  rushing  forward,  they  fought  with  such 
courage  that  the  English  soon  began  to  yield. 

This  advantage  was  no  sooner  gained  than  the  Scotch- 
men managed  to  force  the  English  cavalry  towards  the  pits, 
where  the  fallen  horses  and  riders  increased  the  confusion. 
Just  at  this  moment,  either  because  they  received  the 
agreed-on  signal  or  because  they  did  not  wish  to  miss 
their  share  of  the  plunder,  the  camp  followers,  who  had 
supplied  themselves  with  old  armour  and  banners,  came 
running  over  the  hill. 

When  the  Englishmen  became  aware  of  the  approach  of 
what  they  took  for  a  fresh  army,  they  broke  ranks  and 
fled.  The  Scotchmen  pursued  them,  and  we  are  told  that 
they  followed  the  fugitives  ninety  miles  before  stopping. 

This  victory  of  Ban'nock-burn  (13  14)  terrified  the  Eng- 


146 

lish  soldiers  so  sorely  that  many  years  elapsed  before  they 
again  dared  face  their  brave  neighbours  in  pitched  battle. 
Edward  barely  escaped  with  his  life,  and  the  fortress  which 
he  had  intended  to  rescue  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
Scotch. 

Robert  Bruce  was  now  sole  master  of  Scotland.  He 
tried  to  conquer  Ireland  also,  but  soon  gave  up  the  attempt, 
and,  returning  to  Scotland,  took  Berwick  (ber'ik).  You 
can  imagine  how  happy  he  was  to  become  master  of  this 
city,  when  you  hear  that  members  of  his  family  had  been 
prisoners  there  many  years,  as  well  as  some  Scotch  nobles 
who  had  helped  him  in  the  days  of  Edward  I. 

Robert  Bruce  now  began  to  think  of  governing  his 
kingdom  wisely  ;  but  he  was  not  to  enjoy  his  triumph  long, 
for  he  was  already  sufifering  from  a  very  painful  disease, 
the  result  of  the  many  hardships  he  had  endured.  When 
he  saw  that  his  end  was  near,  Robert  I.,  King  of  Scotland, 
called  his  friends  around  him  and  gave  them  his  last  in- 
structions for  ruling  the  land  he  loved  so  well.  Then, 
having  attended  to  his  public  afifairs,  he  said  that  he  was 
sorry  to  die  before  he  had  visited  the  tomb  of  our  Lord 
at  Jerusalem,  according  to  a  vow  he  had  once  made. 

As  he  could  not  go  himself,  he  begged  Douglas,  his 
best  friend,  to  have  his  heart  cut  out  of  his  dead  body, 
and,  after  it  had  been  embalmed  and  put  in  d.  golden  casket, 
to  carry  it  to  the  Holy  Land.  We  are  told  that  these 
directions  were  carefully  carried  out  when  he  had  breathed 
his  last,  and  that  Douglas  set  out  for  Palestine. 

But  on  the  way  thither,  he  and  his  followers  stopped  in 
Spain  to  help  the  Christians  there  in  one  of  their  battles 
against  the  Saracens.      In  the  midst  of  the  fray,  Douglas 


147 


flung  the  casket  forward,  crying,  "  Go  ahead,  thou  Bruce, 
as  was  ever  thy  wont,  and  I  will  follow  thee."  Tradition 
relates  that  when  the 
battle  was  over  the 
dead  body  of  Doug- 
las was  found  beside 
the  casket. 

In  spite  of  Bruce's 
last  wish,  his  heart 
was    then     brought 

back     to     Scotland, 

I  •■  1        •    J  Melrose  Abbey. 

where  it  was  buried  ^ 

in  Mel'rose  Abbey.      This  building  is  now  a  picturesque 

ruin,  which  strangers  love  to  visit. 


nil 


-o-oj::e>:^00- 


XLIX.    DEATH    OF    EDWARD    II. 

AFTER  Bruce's  victory  at  Bannockburn,  Edward  lav- 
/\  ished  all  his  favours  upon  two  noblemen,  the  De- 
spen'sers,  father  and  son.  The  barons  had  no  objection 
to  the  old  man,  but  they  soon  became  displeased  with  the 
younger,  who  was  as  insolent  and  worthless  as  Gaveston. 

So  many  lands  and  so  much  power  were  granted  to  the 
Despensers  by  the  weak  Edward,  that  the  barons,  led  by 
Lancaster,  again  revolted.  But,  helped  by  the  Despensers, 
Edward  defied  them,  until,  suddenly  changing  his  mind, 
he  yielded  to  them  and  banished  his  new  favourites. 

The  Despensers  were  no  sooner  gone,  however,  than 
Edward  planned  to  break  his  promises;   and  before  long 

STO.   OF    ENG.  — 10 


148 

the  two  exiled  noblemen  were  back  at  court,  the  most 
determined  of  the  barons  imprisoned,  and  Lancaster  and 
twenty-eight  other  knights  beheaded. 

One  of  the  captives,  a  baron  named  Mor'ti-mer,  succeeded 
in  escaping  from  the  Tower  in  a  daring  way.  After 
drugging  his  guards,  he  got  out  of  his  dungeon,  and,  find- 
ing his  way  into  tlie  kitchen,  he  climbed  up  its  wide 
chimney.  Once  on  the  roof,  he  lowered  himself  by  means 
of  a  rope  ladder,  and,  gaining  the  river,  embarked  in  a  boat 
that  was  awaiting  him.  Protected  by  the  darkness,  Morti- 
mer managed  to  board  a  vessel,  which  took  him  over  to 
France.  There  he  lived  for  some  time,  congratulating 
himself  upon  his  escape  from  prison  and  death ;  for  he  had 
been  sentenced  a  short  time  before  his  flight. 

The  King  of  France  had  repeatedly  summoned  Edward 
to  come  over  and  do  homage  to  him  for  his  French  pos- 
sessions ;  but  Edward  said  he  could  not  leave  England,  on 
account  of  his  troubles  with  the  barons.  Instead  he  sent 
his  wife  Isabella  and  his  eldest  son  to  the  French  court,  to 
present  his  excuses  and  make  a  treaty  with  the  king. 

Isabella,  who  was  a  Frenchwoman  by  birth,  signed  a 
treaty  which  gave  all  the  advantage  to  the  French.  Be- 
sides that,  she  made  the  escaped  prisoner  Mortimer  her 
favourite.  In  obedience  to  his  suggestion,  she  even  wrote 
to  the  king  that  she  would  not  come  back  unless  he  sent 
the  Despensers  away.  But  as  the  king  retained  his  favour- 
ites, she  and  Mortimer  finally  joined  the  angry  barons  in 
England,  and  entered  London  at  the  head  of  an  army. 

The  Londoners  warmly  welcomed  Isabella,  but  the  king 
fled  with  his  favourites.  All  the  rebels  he  had  sent  to 
the  Tower  were  released,  and,  joining  the  queen's  army, 


149 

besieged  the  city  of  Bristol.  Here  the  elder  De^penser 
had  taken  refuge,  and  when  they  took  him,  although  he 
was  a  man  of  ninety  years,  they  hanged  him  most  cruelly 
and  tore  his  dead  body  to  pieces. 

The  younger  Despenser  fell  into  their  hands  soon  after, 
and  the  barons  avenged  themselves  for  all  the  harm  he  had 
done  them  by  crowning  him  with  nettles  and  hanging  him 
on  a  gallows  fitty  feet  high. 

Edward,  deprived  of  his  dearest  friends,  now  wandered 
about  from  place  to  place,  and  finally  surrendered  to  his 
enemies.  They  took  him  to  Ken'il-worth,  where  they  kept 
him  a  prisoner,  while  the  queen  called  Parliament  and 
proposed  that  he  should  give  up  his  crown  to  his  son. 
The  barons  welcomed  this  proposal,  and  forced  poor  King 
Edward  to  sign  his  abdication.  The  next  day,  Edward, 
the  second  Prince  of  Wales,  began  his  reign  as  Edward  III. 

Edward  of  Carnarvon,  who  had  reigned  nineteen  and  a 
half  years,  was  kept  a  prisoner  and  treated  very  unkindly 
by  the  barons,  although  his  jailers  pitied  him.  Taken 
from  castle  to  castle,  and  deprived  of  all  comforts,  the 
king  was  once  forced,  we  are  told,  to  make  his  toilet  out 
in  the  open  fields.  When  the  men  brought  him  dirty  water 
from  a  neighbouring  ditch  to  shave  with,  the  tears  poured 
down  his  cheeks. 

"  See,"  he  cried,  "  nature  supplies  the  clean  warm  water 
which  you  would  fain  deny  your  captive  king!" 

After  many  wanderings,  Edward  was  cruelly  murdered 
in  Berkeley  Castle,  by  Mortimer's  and  Isabella's  orders. 


i50 


L.    THE    MURDERERS    PUNISHED. 

EDWARD  HI.  ranks  as  one  of  England's  greatest 
kings;  but  as  he  was  only  fourteen  years  of  age  at 
the  time  of  his  coronation,  the  government  was  first  car- 
ried on  by  a  council  of  regency,  composed  of  twelve  lords. 
These  noblemen,  however,  w'ere  ruled  in  their  turn  -by 
Queen  Isabella  and  her  favourite  Mortimer. 

The  wicked  queen  had  not  only  taken  possession  of  all 
the  property  of  the  Despensers,  but  after  she  had  got  rid 
of  her  weak  husband,  she  tried  to  keep  the  authority  in 
her  own  hands  by  surrounding  her  son  wdth  men  who  were 
her  tools.  The  young  king  could  not  resist,  and  quietly 
bided  his  time. 

Edward  was  a  born  soldier,  and  his  greatest  desire  seems 
to  have  been  to  make  conquests.  Even  in  the  beginning 
of  his  reign  he  joined  his  army  and  fought  against  the 
Scots,  who  were  then  still  governed  by  Robert  Bruce. 

The  English  army  was  composed  of  heavily  armed 
knights,  while  the  Scots,  led  by  Douglas,  wore  little 
armour,  and  rode  small  horses,  which  could  scramble  over 
the  roughest  ground.  Instead  of  having  immense  trains 
of  baggage,  such  as  followed  the  English  army,  each 
Scotchman  carried  a  bag  of  oatmeal  and  a  flat  iron  plate  on 
which  he  baked  his  cakes  at  the  camp  fire.  Whenever  the 
Scotch  w^anted  meat,  they  caught  and  killed  an  ox.  As 
soon  as  it  was  flayed,  the  skin  was  hung  oyer  the  fire, 
filled  with  water,  and  thus  served  as  a  caldron  wherein  to 
boil  the  meat. 

These  simple  arrangements  gave  Douglas  and  his  men 


151 

a  great  advantage  over  the  English,  who  could  never  over- 
take them.  Sudden  raids  here  and  there,  and  very  prompt 
retreats,  formed  the  Scotch  method  of  warfare  ;  but  they 
never  engaged  in  a  pitched  battle  with  Edward's  troops. 

One  night,  when  the  English  were  fast  asleep  in  their 
tents,  Douglas  broke  into  their  camp  with  two  hundred 
men.  Edward  would  have  fallen  a  victim  to  their  blows, 
had  he  not  been  defended  by  his  chaplain  and  chamberlain, 
who,  by  sacrificing  their  lives,  enabled  him  to  escape. 

After  carrying  on  this  skirmish  warfare  for  some  time, 
the  Scots  discovered  that  the  new  king,  although  a  boy,  was 
a  more  formidable  foe  than  his  father,  and  agreed  to  make 
peace  with  him.  In  1328,  therefore,  Edward  III.  and 
Robert  Bruce  signed  the  treaty  of  North-amp'ton,  in 
which  it  was  agreed  that  Scotland  was  to  be  independent. 

That  same  year,  young  as  he  was,  Edward  married  a 
good  and  beautiful  princess,  Philippa  of  Hainault  (ha-no'). 
He  also  arranged  a  marriage  between  his  own  sister  Jane 
and  the  son  of  Robert  Bruce,  who  was  then  only  a  baby. 

As  soon  as  Edward  was  eighteen,  he  became  his  own 
master  and  began  to  reign  alone.  The  very  first  use  he 
made  of  his  power  was  to  punish  the  murderers  of  his 
father.  Now,  as  you  know,  Isabella  and  Mortimer  were 
the  real  authors  of  the  crime.  They  were  evidently  afraid 
they  might  be  punished,  for  they  had  withdrawn  to  the 
Castle  of  Not^ting-ham,  which  was  closely  guarded  by  their 
own  men.  Every  evening  the  gates  were  securely  closed 
and  locked,  the  keys  being  brought  to  the  queen,  who 
kept  them  under  her  own  pillow,  to  prevent  treachery. 

In  spite  of  all  this  caution,  Edward's  follow^ers  got  into 
the  castle  by  a  subterranean  passage,  of  whose  existence 


152 

the  queen  was  not  aware.  Before  he  could  suspect  his 
danger,  Mortimer  was  seized  and  dragged  away  by  the 
soldiers,  while  the  queen,  falling  at  the  young  king's  feet, 
implored  him  to  spare  her  "  gentle  Mortimer." 

As  he  could  not  bring  his  own  mother  to  trial,  Edward 
had  her  taken  to  Castle  Rising,  where  she  spent  the  rest 
of  her  life  a  prisoner.  Once  a  year  he  came  to  see  her, 
but  her  imprisonment  lasted  nearly  twenty-eight  years. 

Her  accomplice  Mortimer  was  taken  to  Westminster, 
where  he  was  tried  and  sentenced  to  be  hanged  at  Tyburn, 
the  place  where  all  common  criminals  were  put  to  death. 


-oo^^^OO- 


LI.    THE    BATTLE    OF    CRECY. 

ONE  year  after  the  treaty  of  Northampton,  the  brave 
King  of  Scotland  died,  leaving  the  crown  to  his  five- 
year-old  son  David.  But  as  the  new  monarch  was  a  mere 
child,  Baliol,  the  son  of  the  former  king  of  that  name,  drove 
him  away  and  took  possession  of  the  crown.  To  make 
Edward  his  friend,  Baliol  offered  to  do  homage  to  him 
for  his  kingdom,  but  this  so  enraged  the  independent  Scots 
that  they  turned  Baliol  out  and  recalled  David. 

The  result  was  that  war  began  once  more,  with  Edward 
and  Baliol  on  one  side,  and  David  and  his  French  allies  on 
the  other.  No  very  great  battles  were  fought,  so  Edward 
left  his  army  to  continue  the  war  in  Scotland,  and  prepared 
to  go  and  fight  in  France. 

Edward  had  been  longing  to  make  his  kingdom  larger, 
and  he  now  thought  he  had  a  good  chance,  as  he  had  three 


153 

separate  reasons  for  fighting  the  French.  In  the  first  place, 
he  said  they  kept  helping  his  Scotch  enemy  David  Bruce ; 
secondly,  French  noblemen  often  made  raids  into  his  prov- 
ince of  Guienne ;  and  thirdly,  he  claimed  that,  as  the  last 
French  kings  died  leaving  no  sons,  the  crown  really  be- 
longed to  him.  This  last  claim  was  hardly  just,  for 
Edward  was  the  son  of  a  sister  of  the  last  three  kings  of 
France ;  so,  if  the  French  crown  could  have  passed  on  to 
a  woman,  it  would  have  belonged,  not  to  his  mother,  but 
to  one  of  the  daughters  of  the  late  kings.  Nevertheless, 
it  was  on  this  threefold  pretext  that  Edward  III.  began  the 
Hundred  Years'  War,  so  called  because  about  a  century 
passed  ere  the  quarrel  was  ended. 

Calling  his  Parliament,  Edward  asked  them  for  money, 
which  they  supplied  him  in  exchange  for  new  privileges. 
It  was  Edward's  intention  to  sail  for  Guienne  and  begin 
the  conflict  with  the  French  there ;  but,  owing  to  con- 
trary w^nds,  he  had  to  change  his  plans  and  land  in  the 
northern  part  of  France.  Hedged  in  between  the  Somme 
River  and  the  sea,  Edward  saw  that  his  position  was  un- 
favourable. Besides,  many  of  his  men  became  sick  and 
died  from  eating  too  much  fruit,  so  he  was  afraid  the 
French  army  might  get  the  better  of  him. 

By  offering  a  reward  of  one  hundred  pounds  to  any  one 
who  would  show  him  a  ford  across  the  Somme,  Edward 
cleverly  secured  a  better  position  near  the  village  of  Crecy 
(era-see^).  Here  he  had  pits  dug,  and  provided  his  bow- 
men with  sharp  stakes  to  drive  into  the  ground  before 
them  so  as  to  form  a  fence  which  would  prevent  the  French 
from  riding  them  down.  Then  he  commanded  his  men 
to  eat  and  rest  until  they  were  needed. 


154 

It  seems  that  one  part  of  the  army  was  then  placed 
under  the  command  of  the  Prince  of  Wales,  a  lad  of  six- 
teen. He  was  distinguished  from  the  other  knights  by  his 
coal-black  armour,  which  won  for  him  the  surname  of  the 
Black  Prince.  Like  most  youths  of  his  age  and  time,  the 
Black  Prince  had  been  trained  in  all  knightly  exercises, 
but  this  was  his  first  great  battle,  and  he  was  very  anxious 
to  do  some  brave  deed  whereby  he  might  win  his  knightly 
spurs. 

The  French  army  was  about  eighty  thousand  strong,  but 
it  was  under  the  command  of  different  French  noblemen, 
who  were  all  eager  to  press  on  ahead  and  strike  the  first 
blow.  This  lack  of  discipline  in  the  French  army,  a  sud- 
den shower  which  wet  their  bowstrings,  and  the  fact  that 
they  began  fighting  when  tired  by  a  long  march,  proved 
fatal  to  their  hopes  of  victory. 

The  archers  were  in  front,  but,  finding  their  bows  use- 
less, they  turned  to  beat  a  retreat.  As  they  were  hired 
troops,  the  French  knights  fancied  they  were  cowards  or 
traitors,  and,  falling  upon  them  with  drawn  swords,  began 
to  massacre  them.  The  English  took  advantage  of  this 
confusion,  and  the  Black  Prince  led  a  gallant  charge  into 
the  midst  of  the  French  army. 

Edward  III.,  who  was  watching  the  battle  from  the  top 
of  a  windmill  on  a  neighbouring  hill,  was  proud  of  his  son's 
bravery,  and  when  anxious  courtiers  pressed  forward  and 
begged  him  to  send  help  to  the  fighting  prince,  he  asked: 
**  Is  my  son  dead,  wounded,  or  felled  to  the  ground?  " 

'*  Not  so,  thank  God!"  answered  the  messengers;  **  but 
he  is  sore  beset." 

"  He  shall  have  no  aid  from  me,"  exclaimed  the  king, 


155 

proudly.  "  Let  him  bear  himself  like  a  man  ;  in  this  battle 
he  must  win  his  spurs." 

These  words,  reported  to  the  prince,  nerved  his  arm  to 
greater  prowess,  and  when  evening  came  he  saw  the  whole 
French  army  routed.  The  battlefield  was  strewn  with 
dead ;  for,  owing  to  the  steady  fire  of  the  English  archers 
and  the  power  of  their  great  bows  and  "  cloth-yard  "  shafts, 
armour  proved  but  little  protection.  This  battle,  fought 
in  1346,  showed  the  power  of  the  men  in  the  ranks  as  op- 
posed to  the  mailed  knights  and  their  retainers,  and  with 
it  began  the  fall  of  feudalism.  It  is  interesting  to  read 
that  cannon  were  used  for  the  first  time  at  Crecy,  though 
they  were  not  very  effective.  They  merely  threw  "  small 
iron  balls  "  "  to  frighten  the  horses." 

Thirty  thousand  Frenchmen  were  lying  on  the  plain  of 
Crecy,  and  on  visiting  the  battlefield  the  next  day,  the 
Black  Prince  found  tliere  the  body  of  the  aged  King  of 
Bo-he'mi-a.  This  monarch  was  so  brave  that,  although 
blind  and  almost  helpless,  he  asked  to  be  led  into  the  thick- 
est of  the  fray,  so  that  he  might  strike  a  few  blows. 

Two  of  his  knights  fastened  his  horse  to  their  own,  and, 
dashing  forward,  enabled  him  to  gratify  his  last  wish. 
Their  bodies  lay  close  together,  and  by  them  stood  the  three 
horses,  still  tied  together,  but  unharmed.  When  the  young 
Prince  of  Wales  saw  the  dead  king's  banner  lying  near  him, 
he  picked  it  up,  and  said  he  would  adopt  as  his  own  crest 
the  emblem  of  the  three  feathers  it  bore.  He  also  appro- 
priated the  King  of  Bohemia's  motto,  "  Ich  dien "  (I 
serve) ;  and  ever  since  then  this  motto  and  crest  have  be- 
longed to  the  Prince  of  Wales. 


156 


LII.    THE    SIEGE    OF    CALAIS. 

HAVING  cut  the  French  army  to  pieces  at  Crecy,  Ed- 
ward, who  was  anxious  to  secure  a  good  seaport  in 
France,  set  out  to  besiege  Calais  (cah-la'),  a  strongly  for- 
tified city  within  sight  of  the  Dover  cliffs. 

The  town  was  bravely  defended  by  a  gallant  Frenchman 
named  Jean  de  Vienne,  and  in  spite  of  the  English  ships 
blocking  the  port,  and  the  English  army  surrounding  it  on 
all  sides,  the  French  held  out  stanchly.  As  no  provisions 
were  allowed  to  enter,  the  governor  soon  saw  that  the  peo- 
ple would  suffer  from  famine,  so  he  sent  out  all  the  old 
men,  women,  and  children.  These  were  allowed  to  pass 
through  the  English  ranks  to  join  their  friends  elsewhere. 
But  although  the  number  of  inhabitants  was  thus  greatly 
diminished,  and  the  food  carefully  portioned  out,  the  fam- 
ine became  so  great  that  the  people  of  Calais  ate  cats, 
dogs,  and  rats,  and  even  boiled  old  boots  to  make  soup. 

Month  after  month  passed  by,  arid  although  their  suffer- 
ings grew  greater  every  day,  they  still  held  out  bravely, 
hoping  the  French  king  would  send  them  help  or  drive 
away  the  English  army.  Once  more  the  city  gates  opened, 
and  a  second  troop  of  thin  and  haggard  people  came  out ; 
but  Edward  was  now  so  angry  at  the  obstinate  resistance 
of  Calais  that  he  would  not  let  them  pass,  and  they  died 
of  hunger  between  the  city  walls  and  the  English  camp. 

Finally  the  city  was  forced  to  surrender,  but  Edward 
declared  that  he  would  kill  all  the  inhabitants  unless  six  of 
the  most  prominent  citizens  came  to  him,  barefooted  and 
in  their  shirts,  each  with  a  rope  around  his  neck,  and  bring- 


157 


ing"  the  keys  of  the  city  gates.  When  this  message  was 
deHvered  by  the  governor,  the  people  of  Calais  groaned 
aloud,  for  they  felt  that  their  end  was  near.  But  St. 
Pierre,  one  of  the  wealthiest  men  in  town,  stepped  for- 
ward, offering  to  be  the  first  of  the  six  required  victims. 

Two  of  his  relatives  immediately  imitated  him,  and  they 
were  soon  followed  by  three  other  noble-hearted  volunteers. 
The  six  victim^.,  in  the  prescribed  attire,  then  went  before 
Edward,  escorted  to  the  gates  by  their  weeping  kinsmen. 
When  the  Englishmen  saw  the  Calais  burghers  appear, 
they  were  touched  to  the  heart,  all  except  Edward,  who, 
in  spite  of  the  entreaties  of  the  Black  Prince  and  all  his 
courtiers,  ordered  that  they  should  be  hanged  at  once. 

The  guards  were  about  to  obey,  when  good  Queen  Phi- 
lippa  knelt  before  her  husband,  imploring  him  to  spare  the 
lives  of  those  six  brave  men.  She  spoke  so  movingly  that 
all  who  heard  her  wept ;  then  she  gently  reminded  Ed- 
ward that  she  had  come  over  the  sea  to  bring  him  the  joy- 
ful news  of  the  victory  of  Nev'ille's  Cross,  won  over  the 
Scots,  whose  king,  David  Bruce,  was  now  her  prisoner. 

Her  entreaties  softened  Edward's  heart,  and  he  gave  her 
the  six  Calais  burghers,  to  deal  with  as  she  wished.  Phi- 
lippa  had  them  led  to  her  own  tent,  where  they  were  richly 
clothed,  royally  feasted,  and,  after  receiving  many  gifts, 
were  sent  back  unharmed  to  their  rejoicing  relatives. 

As  Calais  now  belonged  to  the  English,  Edward  ordered 
all  the  Frenchmen  to  leave  it  and  go  and  live  elsewhere. 
He  next  peopled  the  city  with  his  own  subjects,  and  had 
it  guarded  by  an  English  garrison.  Hither  English  boats 
brought  tin,  wool,  and  other  merchandise,  to  sell  to  the 
French  merchants  who  came  there  to  buy. 


(158) 


159 

Although  Edward  had  hitherto  been  so  successful,  he 
was  now  obliged  to  stop  making  war,  and  to  conclude  a 
seven  years'  truce  with  France.  He  was  forced  to  sus- 
pend his  conquests  because  a  terrible  pestilence,  called  the 
black  death,  had  made  its  way  into  Europe  from  Asia,  and 
was  now  carrying  off  thousands  of  people. 

The  black  death  raged  for  several  years,  and  killed  about 
one  third  of  the  population.  It  was  so  deadly  because 
people  in  those  days  did  not  know  that  three  things  are 
necessary  for  good  health  :  pure  air,  pure  water,  and  great 
cleanliness,  not  only  of  the  body,  but  also  of  all  its  sur- 
roundings— clothing,  houses,  and  streets. 

OO^^CH) 


LIII.    THE    AGE    OF    CHIVALRY. 

SHORTLY  after  the  taking  of  Calais,  Edward,  who 
is  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  chivalrous  of  the 
English  kings,  founded  a  new  order  of  knights,  which  was 
called  the  Order  of  the  Garter.  It  is  said  that  at  one  of 
the  court  balls  the  Countess  of  Salisbury  dropped  her  gar- 
ter. The  king  saw  her  confusion,  and,  wishing  to  prevent 
any  of  his  courtiers  from  being  so  rude  as  to  laugh  at  the 
accident,  he  picked  up  the  garter,  put  it  on  his  own  leg, 
and  said  aloud  in  French,  '*  Honi  soit  qui  mal  y  pense," 
words  which  mean,  "  Shamed  be  he  who  evil  thinks." 

He  then  declared  that  he  was  going  to  choose  twenty- 
five  of  the  most  noble  knights  to  belong  to  the  new  Order 
of  the  Garter,  with  him  and  the  Black  Prince.  Each  of 
the  knights  he  chose  wore  a  blue  garter  on  his  left  leg,  a 


i6o 


blue  sash  across  his  breast,  a  medal  with  the  effigy  of  St. 
George  trampling  the  dragon,  and  a  silver  star  with  eight 
points. 

The  twenty-five  Knights  of  the  Garter  have  always  been 
very  proud  of  this  honourable  decoration,  and  in  knightly 
days,  when  it  was  the  custom  to  take  solemn  oaths,  these 
men  used  to  take  pride  in  swearing  by  their  ''  stars  and 
garters."  Hence,  also,  **to  receive  the  blue  ribbon  "  meant 
to  have  the  greatest  honour  conferred  upon  one. 

Some  people,  however,  claim  that  the  Order  of  the  Gar- 
ter was  instituted  by  Richard  the  Lion-hearted.  He,  it  is 
said,  gave  a  leather  garter  to  the  knights  who  had  distin- 
guished themselves  in  fighting  against  the  Saracens. 

In  the  feudal  ages,  knights  were  men  of  noble  birth, 
who,  after  undergoing  a  certain  amount  of  training,  were 
received  into  the  order  of  knighthood  or  chivalry. 

Until  seven  years  old,  boys  staid  under  their  mothers' 
care ;  then  they  were  sent  to  the  castle  of  some  great 
nobleman,  where  they  served  as  pages  till  they  were  four- 
teen. During  pagehood  the  young  noblemen  learned  to 
be  courteous  and  gentle,  to  wait  upon  ladies,  tell  stories, 
sing  songs,  and  play  upon  the  lute,  and  they  were  daily 
trained  to  be  strong,  agile,  frank,  brave,  polite,  and  truthful. 

From  the  age  of  fourteen  till  they  were  about  twenty 
they  were  called  squires  ;  they  practised  the  art  of  fighting, 
and  attended  knights  at  war,  to  help  them  don  their  heavy 
armour  or  to  raise  them  when  they  were  overthrown. 
This  term  of  apprenticeship  ended,  the  candidate  for 
knighthood  spent  twenty- four  hours  in  fasting  and  prayer, 
and  during  the  night  knelt  alone  in  the  church,  before  the 
altar,  upon  which  his  armour  was  laid  to  be  consecrated. 


i6i 


This  time  of  meditation  and  prayer  was  followed  on  the 
next  day  by  a  solemn  religious  ceremony,  in  which  the 
young  knight  vowed  to  protect  the  weak,  the  fatherless, 
and  the  oppressed,  to  honour  all  women,  and  to  right  the 
wrong  wherever  it  was  possible.  Then  a  knight  drew  his 
sword  and  struck  the  kneeling  candidate  with  the  flat  blade 
(this  was  called  bestowing  the  accolade),  calling  him  by 
name,  and  bidding  him  rise  and  receiv^e  his  kiss  of  welcome 
into  the  order  of  chivalry. 

Other  knights,  or  fair  maidens  of  high  degree,  then 
helped  him  don  the  different  parts  of  a  knight's  armour. 
The  fact  that  a  knight  had  to  undergo  such  a  preparation, 
and  take  such  solemn  vows,  tended  to  make  him  braver  and 
better  than  he  would  otherwise  have  been ;  and  a  true 
gentleman  nowadays  is  one  who,  like  the  knights  of  old, 
is  strictly  honourable  in  all  things  and  gentle  towards 
every  one. 

During  the  chivalric  ages,  the  knights  were  in  the  habit 
of  making  strange  vows,  such  as  not  to  rest  until  they  had 
fought  a  number  of  battles  or  won  a  certain  prize  in  a 
tournament.  When  Edward  started  to  make  war  in 
France,  some  of  the  nobles  declared  they  would  wear  a 
patch  over  one  eye  until  they  had  beaten  the  French! 

Ladies  also  made  queer  vows,  and  we  are  told  that  when 
good  Queen  Philippa  heard  that  Edward  had  begun  the 
siege  of  Calais,  she  swore  she  would  not  change  a  certain 
linen  kerchief  she  wore  until  he  had  taken  the  city.  As 
the  siege  lasted  ten  months,  the  queen's  kerchief  had  time 
to  grow  very  yellow.  Her  ladies,  to  look  as  much  like  her 
as  possible,  wore  unbleached  linen,  and  thus  ecru  became 
the  fashionable  colour. 


1 62 


LIV.    THE    BATTLE    OF    POITIERS. 

THE  black  death  no  sooner  ceased  its  ravages  than 
the  Hundred  Years'  War  was  renewed.  This  time 
it  was  carried  on  from  the  south,  because  the  Black  Prince 
had  taken  up  his  abode  in  Guienne  and  held  his  court  at 
Bordeaux  (bor-do^).  The  French  king  who  had  been  de- 
feated at  Crecy  was  dead,  but  his  son,  John  I.,  had  collected 
a  large  army  to  drive  the  English  out  of  the  realm. 

After  four  years  of  fighting,  in  the  course  of  which  no 
great  battle  occurred,  the  French  hemmed  in  the  English 
forces  near  Poitiers  (pwah-ti-a')  in  1356.  The  English 
army  was  only  about  eight  thousand  strong,  while  the 
French  were  five  times  as  numerous.  The  Prince  of 
Wales,  seeing  the  odds  against  him,  cried,  "  God  help  us! 
It  only  remains  for  us  to  fight  bravely!" 

He  felt  so  sure  of  defeat  that  he  allowed  a  priest  to  try 
to  make  peace  ;  but  when  he  heard  that  the  French  king 
would  consent  only  on  condition  that  he  surrender  with 
one  hundred  knights,  he  haughtily  answered  that  he  would 
never  be  made  a  prisoner  of  war,  except  sword  in  hand. 

Thus  forced  to  fight,  the  Englishmen  behaved  so  well 
that,  in  spite  of  the  dashing  courage  of  the  Frenchmen, 
they  not  only  won  the  victory,  but  took  John  and  one 
of  his  sons  prisoners.  The  Prince  of  Wales,  like  a  true 
knight,  treated  his  captives  with  the  utmost  courtesy, 
even  waiting  in  person  upon  the  king  at  table. 

The  royal  prisoners  were  soon  taken  to  England.  They 
entered  London  in  state,  almost  as  if  they  were  the  victors, 
John  wearing  his  regal  mantle  and  sitting  upon  a  magnifi- 


i63 

cent  steed,  while  his  conqueror,  plainly  clad  and  riding  a 
pony,  escorted  him  with  every  mark  of  respect. 

The  captive  king  was  lodged  in  the  Savoy  Palace,  where 
he  staid  three  years,  while  his  son  governed  France  in  his 
name.  At  the  end  of  that  time,  the  treaty  of  Bretigny 
(bre-teen-yr)  was  signed,  and  it  was  agreed  that  John 
should  return  to  France  upon  paying  three  million  crowns 
of  gold,  and  that  Edward  should  renounce  all  claims  to  the 
throne  of  France.  But  the  English  king  kept  many  prov- 
inces in  France,  which  were  all  governed  by  the  Black 
Prince  from  his  court  at  Bordeaux. 

John  went  home,  but  finding  that  the  money  could  not 
be  raised,  and  hearing  that  two  of  the  princes  whom  he 
had  left  in  England  as  hostages  had  escaped,  he  went 
back  of  his  own  free  will,  and  staid  in  London  until  he  died. 
The  new  French  king,  however,  managed  so  cleverly  that 
in  ten  years  the  French  gradually  recovered  the  greater  part 
of  their  lost  territory  without  fighting  any  great  battles. 

The  Black  Prince's  health  was  so  undermined  by  an  un- 
successful war  in  Spain  that  he  was  no  longer  able  to  sit 
upon  his  horse,  and  had  to  be  carried  in  a  litter.  The 
pain  he  suffered  affected  his  temper,  and  instead  of  being 
gentle  and  courteous  as  of  old,  he  became  cruel  and  re- 
vengeful. 

The  people  of  Limoges  (lee-mozh')  having  revolted,  the 
Black  Prince  went  thither,  and  after  taking  the  town  he 
put  all  the  inhabitants  to  death.  But  this  act  of  cruelty 
did  not  prevent  other  cities  from  revolting  too,  and  four 
years  after  the  Black  Prince  finally  left  France,  there  re- 
mained only  five  cities  that  still  belonged  to  the  English. 

The  Black  Prince  died  at  forty-six,  not  long  after  his 

STO.    OF    ENG.  —  II 


1 64 

return  to  England.  He  was  buried  in  the  Cathedral  of 
Canterbury,  where  the  armour  he  wore  still  hangs  near 
the  place  where  his  body  rests.  All  England  mourned 
for  him,  and  one  of  his  friends  died  of  grief  at  his  loss* 

The  Normans  and  the  Saxons,  who  had  hitherto  been 
rivals,  had  become  friends  while  fighting  against  the 
French.  These  wars  also  had  the  effect  of  making  France 
and  England  dislike  each  other,  and  the  Norman  nobles, 
who  had  hitherto  spoken  French,  now  considered  it  more 
patriotic  to  talk  English.  So,  while  there  had  formerly 
been  three  languages  in  England, —  Latin  for  the  church 
and  for  scientific  writings ;  French  for  the  court,  for  the 
nobility,  for  story  books,  and  for  lawsuits ;  and  English  for 
the  common  people, —  there  was  now  but  one  language  for 
all  practical  purposes. 

Much  of  this  reform  was  brought  about  by  the  war,  but 
it  was  also  helped  on  greatly  by  the  fact  that  some  of  the 
learned  men  now  began  to  write  in  English.  One  of  these 
men  is  the  noted  English  reformer  Wyc'lif,  ''the  Morning 
Star  of  English  prose,"  of  whom  you  will  soon  hear  more. 
Another  is  the  poet  Chaucer,  who  is  called  "  the  Morning 
Star  of  English  poetry."  He  composed  the  delightful 
poems  known  as  '*  The  Canterbury  Tales,"  in  which  he  re- 
lates the  stories  told  by  a  group  of  pilgrims  on  their  way 
to  visit  the  shrine  of  St.  Thomas  of  Canterbury. 

Edward  carried  on  so  many  wars  during  his  long  reign 
that  he  had  to  depend  upon  the  good  will  of  Parliament  to 
supply  him  with  necessary  funds.  This  body  took  advan- 
tage of  these  necessities  to  win  certain  privileges  and  to 
work  certain  reforms,  which  all  tended  to  limit  the  power 
of  the  king  and  to  extend  the  privileges  of  the  people. 


i65 

The  end  of  Edward's  life  was  very  sad.  He  had  lost 
his  wife  and  favourite  child,  and  for  a  time  he  became  the 
dupe  of  a  woman  named  Alice  Per'rers,  who  pretended  she 
loved  him  dearly.  But  she  was  only  a  vulgar  and  grasp- 
ing woman,  and  when  she  had  secured  all  the  dead  queen's 
jewels,  and  much  money  and  land,  she  forsook  the  king  on 
his  deathbed,  after  stealing  even  his  last  finger  ring.  A 
priest,  coming  into  the  room,  found  the  dying  king  all 


Throne  Room,  Windsor  Castle. 


alone,  forsaken  by  every  one.  He  held  his  cross  before 
the  monarch's  eyes,  and  staid  with  him  until  he  breathed 
his  last,  and  his  fiftv  years'  reisfn  was  ended. 

Edward  HI.  was  a  great  warrior  and  very  ambitious,  but, 
as  you  have  seen,  he  did  not  retain  his  French  conquests 
very  long.  He  built  the  palace  of  Windsor  (win'zor)  by 
levying  troops  of  workmen,  on  the  same  plan  as  the  Nor- 


1 66 


man  kings  raised  an  army  In  time  of  war.  He  was  the  last 
king  who  did  this,  however,  for  the  people  were  gradually 
growing  more  independent. 


Windsor  Castle,  from  the  Thames. 


-00^:^00- 


LV.    THE    PEASANTS'    REVOLT. 

EDWARD  HI.  was  succeeded  on  the  throne  of  Eng- 
land by  his  grandchild  Richard  H.,  the  son  of  the 
valiant  Black  Prince.  The  new  king  was  then  only  ten 
years  old,  so  his  uncles  wondered  how  he  would  behave 
during  the  long  coronation  services.  But  he  was  so  hand- 
some and  obedient  that  they  had  no  trouble  with  him. 
He  did  everything  they  bade  him  ;  still,  the  tedious  cere- 
monies tired  him  so  much  that  he  had  to  be  carried  off  to 
bed.  Little  kings  cannot  take  their  ease  and  lie  abed  as 
long  as  they  choose ;    so   the   men   soon   roused   Richard 


i67 

again,  to  preside  over  a  grand  banquet,  where  his  health 
was  drunk,  and  where  he  had  to  hsten  to  long  speeches. 

As  the  king  was  far  too  young  to  reign  himself,  his 
three  uncles,  the  Dukes  of  York,  Lancaster,  and  Glouces- 
ter, had  all  the  power,  but  unfortunately  they  did  not 
always  agree. 

The  wars  in  France  and  in  Scotland  still  required  much 
money,  and  Parliament  was  called  upon  to  supply  it,  and 
also  to  pay  for  the  expensive  coronation  festivities.  As 
the  existing  taxes  were  not  enough  to  meet  all  these  de- 
mands, it  was  decided  that  every  person  over  fifteen  should 
pay  a  shilling  to  the  king.  For  the  rich  this  was  a  mere 
trifle ;  but  there  were  many  poor  who  earned  so  little  that 
it  was  impossible  for  them  to  pay  it. 

The  news  of  this  tax,  therefore,  caused  great  dismay  and 
indignation  among  the  working  classes ;  and  when  the  tax- 
collectors  came,  roughly  demanding  their  money,  they  were 
received  with  scowls  and  threats.  They  finally  came  to 
the  house  of  a  blacksmith  named  Wat  Tyler.  He  had  a 
daughter  of  fourteen,  who  was  so  tall  and  womanly-looking 
that  the  men  insisted  upon  her  paying  one  sliilling  too. 

In  vain  she  protested  that  she  was  only  fourteen.  The 
tax-collector  not  only  refused  to  believe  her,  but  actually 
began  to  illtreat  her.  The  girl's  screams,  however,  were 
heard  by  her  father,  who  rushed  out  of  his  forge,  hammer 
in  hand,  and  in  his  anger  killed  the  collector. 

When  the  tax-collector's  friends  came  to  arrest  Wat 
Tyler,  they  found  him  surrounded  by  his  poor  neigh- 
bours, who  swore  they  would  protect  him  because  he  had 
killed  the  man  in  defending  his  child.  Excited  by  this 
event   and   by  the   speeches   of   another   workman,  Jack 


i68 


btraw,  and  of  a  poor  preacher,  John  Ball,  these  men,  with 
nearly  one  hundred  thousand  others  from  many  parts 
of  England,  finally  decided  to  march  to  London.  They 
wanted  to  tell  the  king  that  they  could  not  pay  the  tax, 
and  to  beg  him  to  make  new  laws  so  they  should  no  longer 
be  forced  to  work  for  their  lords  without  receiving  wages. 

The  mob  entered  London,  and  after  wandering  about 
the  streets  helplessly,  burned  a  few  houses,  and  destroyed 
all  the  papers  and  records  which  the  lawyers  kept  in  the 
Temple.  They  also  declared  that  strangers  had  no  busi- 
ness in  England ;  so  they  stopped  all  the  passers-by,  and 
killed  those  who  could  not  pronounce  "bread  and  cheese" 
with  the  proper  English  accent. 

Their  clamours  terrified  the  Londoners,  and  for  a  while 
no  one  knew  what  to  do.  Strange  to  relate,  the  young 
king,  who  was  but  fifteen  years  old,  was  the  only  one  who 
kept  his  presence  of  mind.  As  his  uncles  were  all  away, 
Richard  made  a  proclamation,  saying  he  would  meet  the 
rebels  on  a  plain  outside  the  city,  on  the  next  day,  to  hear 
their  complaints. 

o-oJi^OO 

LVL    RICHARD'S    PRESENCE    OF  MIND. 

THE  greater  part  of  the  mob  believed  Richard  and  went 
out  of  the  city  to  wait  for  him.  True  to  his  promise, 
Richard  rode  out  the  next  day,  and  after  listening  to  their 
grievances  he  promised  that  the  tax  should  be  removed, 
and  that  all  serfs  should  be  freed  from  their  masters.  Then 
he  dismissed  them,  asking  them  to  leave  two  men  from 
each  village,  so  he  could  give  them  his  written  promise. 


1 69 

The  mob  was  quite  satisfied,  and  disbanded,  while  the 
young  king  set  thirty  clerks  to  writing  the  promised  papers. 
But  while  Richard  was  busy  thus,  Wat  Tyler,  Jack  Straw, 
and  a  few  others,  thinking  he  meant  to  deceive  them, 
forced  their  way  into  the  Tower  to  find  him.  Their  search 
proved  vain,  and  in  their  anger  they  killed  the  Archbishop 
of  Canterbury  and  several  other  persons. 

The  next  day,  as  Richard  was  riding  through  Smithfield 
with  the  Mayor  of  London  and  sixty  attendants,  he  met 
this  division  of  the  mob.  Tyler  now  stepped  forward  to 
speak  to  the  king.  In  his  excitement  he  used  a  loud  and 
threatening  tone,  and,  laying  his  hand  upon  his  sword,  half 
drew  it  from  the  scabbard. 

The  mayor,  fancying  that  Wat  Tyler  was  about  to  strike 
the  king,  felled  him  to  the  ground  with  one  blow.  When 
the  mob  saw  their  leader  fall,  they  advanced  with  angry 
cries ;  but  Richard  rode  boldly  forward,  saying,  "  My 
friends,  be  not  concerned  for  the  loss  of  your  unworthy 
leader.      I,  your  king,  will  be  your  leader!" 

Then,  turning,  he  rode  ahead,  they  blindly  following 
him.  His  escort,  in  the  meantime,  had  dashed  off  into 
the  city  in  search  of  help,  and  soon  came  to  rescue  him 
with  thousands  of  brave  men.  When  the  mob  saw  these 
soldiers  coming,  they  fell  on  their  knees,  begging  for 
mercy,  and  they  scattered  thankfully  when  the  king  as- 
sured them  of  his  forgiveness  and  bade  them  go  home. 

The  heads  of  Wat  Tyler  and  a  few  of  the  men  who  had 
taken  part  in  the  murder  of  the  archbishop  were  exposed 
on  London  Bridge,  and  the  rebellion,  which  is  generally 
known  as  the  Peasants'  Revolt,  was  ended.  But,  unhap- 
pily, most  of  Richard's  promises  were  set  aside  by  Parlia- 


170 

ment,  and  although  the  poll  tax  was  stopped,  the  other 
grievances  went  on  as  before. 

You  see  that  Richard  was  fearless  and  generous  at  first. 
In  spite  of  these  qualities,  he  made  a  very  poor  king.  This 
was  principally  owing  to  the  bad  bringing  up  he  received. 
His  uncles  were  proud  of  ruling,  and,  hoping  to  retain  the 
power,  they  did  not  let  him  learn  anything  useful,  but 
kept  him  amused  by  surrounding  him  with  worthless  flat- 
terers and  vain  shows.  They  found  him  a  wife  when  he 
was  little  more  than  a  boy,  but  she  was  fortunately  so 
gentle  and  lovable  that  she  was  called  good  Queen  Anne. 

Richard's  uncles,  in  the  meantime,  were  having  much 
trouble  with  Rome  because  the  pope  did  not  like  the 
teachings  of  Wyclif,  a  man  whom  the  queen  and  the  Duke 
of  Lancaster  greatly  admired.  Wyclif  declared  that  many 
of  the  priests  had  grown  rich  and  lazy,  and  that  they  took 
no  pains  to  teach  and  help  the  poor.  He  therefore  trans- 
lated the  Bible  into  English,  so  that  the  unlearned  could 
read  it  as  well  as  the  learned.  Then  he  preached  so  elo- 
quently to  his  Oxford  students  that  many  of  them  travelled 
all  through  England  and  Europe,  preaching  the  gospel. 

The  wandering  teachers  often  sang  hymns,  so  the  people 
called  them  the  singers,  or  Lol'lards,  a  name  which-  was 
soon  given  to  all  those  whose  teachings  were  difl'erent  from 
those  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church.  The  pope  thought 
Wyclif  was  very  wrong,  and  therefore  forced  him  to  go 
away  from  Oxford  and  to  withdraw  to  a  little  village  called 
Lut'ter-worth.  But  although  Wyclif  could  no  longer  teach 
at  Oxford,  he  had  alreadv  sown  the  seed  of  the  Protestant 
religion,  so  he  is  called  **  the  Morning  Star  of  the  Refor- 
mation."     He  died  at  Lutterworth,  in  his  little  church; 


171 

and  thirty  years  after  his  death  he  had  won  many  con- 
verts. The  CathoHcs  considered  his  teachings  so  wrong 
that  they  had  his  bones  taken  out  of  their  grave  and  burned. 
His  ashes  were  cast  into  a  brook,  which  carried  them  into 
a  river,  and  finally  into  the  ocean.  But  Wyclif's  ashes 
were  not  scattered  any  farther  than  his  writings  and  teach- 
ings, for,  as  you  know,  there  are  now  Protestants  in  all  parts 
of  the  world. 

OO^^CK" 


LVII.    A    TINY    QUEEN. 

THESE  religious  troubles  w^ere  not  all.  War  arose, 
and  the  king's  uncles  had  to  carry  it  on.  But  as 
they  were  quite  selfish,  you  will  not  be  surprised  to  hear 
that  one  of  them,  Lancaster,  took  the  money  which  Par- 
liament gave  him  for  the  war  in  France,  and  used  it  in  se- 
curing the  throne  of  Castile  in  Spain  for  his  daughter. 

Besides  the  war  in  Castile  and  France,  there  was  a  war 
with  Scotland,  the  principal  battle  being  won  by  Douglas 
and  the  Scots  against  the  English  under  Percy  Hotspur. 
This  battle  took  place  at  Ot'ter-burn,  and  it  gave  rise  to 
a  ballad  which  was  sung  for  several  centuries  —  the  "  Bal- 
lad of  Che\-y  Chase." 

The  Duke  of  Gloucester,  one  of  the  king's  uncles,  had 
used  his  power  very  unwisely,  and  had,  besides,  angered 
the  king  by  putting  to  death  his  tutor,  although  Queen 
Anne  knelt  before  Gloucester  three  hours,  imploring  him 
to  spare  the  good  man's  life.  Richard  was  naturally  indig- 
nant, and  shortly  after  this  turned  to  his  uncle  in  full  coun- 
cil, and  abruptly  asked :  "  How  old  am  I  ?  " 


172 

'*  Your  majesty  is  In  your  twenty-second  year,"  an- 
swered Gloucester. 

"  Then  I  am  old  enough  to  reign,"  cried  the  king,  and 
he  dismissed  the  council. 

Gloucester,  deprived  of  the  regency,  now  plotted  against 
the  king,  who  therefore  sent  him  a  prisoner  to  Calais. 
Here  the  duke  died,  and  it  is  generally  supposed  that  he 
was  secretly  put  to  death  by  Richard's  order. 

When  good  Queen  Anne  died,  leaving  no  children, 
Richard  decided  to  marry  again,  and  after  much  thought 
he  selected  Isabella,  daughter  of  the  King  of  France. 
When  he  made  this  choice  known,  one  of  his  courtiers 
objected  that  the  princess  was  too  young,  as  she  was  only 
eight  years  old.  But  the  king  answered,  **  The  lady's  age 
is  a  fault  which  every  day  will  remedy,"  and  sent  an  em- 
bassy to  France  to  ask  her  hand  in  marriage. 

Isabella  was  so  little  that  every  one  wondered  how  she 
would  behave.  The  men  were  brought  before  her,  and 
when  the  ambassador  had  knelt  and  kissed  her  hand,  he 
said :  "  Madam,  if  it  please  God,  you  shall  be  our  lady  and 
queen." 

Baby  as  she  still  was,  little  Isabella  gravely  answered : 
"  Sir,  if  it  please  God  and  my  father  that  I  be  Queen  of 
England,  I  shall  be  well  pleased,  for  I  am  told  I  shall  be 
a  great  lady." 

The  grandest  outfit  you  ever  heard  of  was  made  ready 
for  this  little  queen,  who  was  escorted  to  England  by  the 
embassy,  and  solemnly  crowned  at  Westminster  Abbey. 
She  was  so  sweet  and  little  that  every  one  loved  her;  and 
the  king  used  to  visit  her  every  day  in  her  nursery,  where 
he  actually  played  dolls  with  her.      He  was  so  kind  to  the 


173 

little  queen  that  she  loved  him  dearly,  and  she  never  for- 
got her  playfellow,  who  was  a  good-hearted  man,  although 
a  weak  and  worthless  king. 

The  Duke  of  Lancaster  was  dead  by  this  time,  and  his 
son,  Henry  of  Bol'ing-broke,  had  been  exiled  by  tlie  king. 
Richard  now  thought  it  would  be  a  good  chance  to  seize 
this  cousin's  property  ;  so  he  took  possession  of  it,  just  be- 
fore leaving  for  Ireland,  where  war  awaited  him. 

Henry  of  Bolingbroke,  or  Lancaster,  as  he  is  called,  now 
begged  the  Duke  of  Brittany  to  help  him  regain  his  es- 
tates. The  duke  consented,  and  while  Richard  was  in 
Ireland,  Henry  landed  in  England.  He  was  soon  joined 
by  a  large  force,  and,  seeing  that  the  people  were  tired  of 
their  weak  king  Richard,  Henry  began  to  think  of  taking 
the  throne  himself. 

Richard,  hearing  of  his  cousin's  arrival,  came  back  to 
England  as  fast  as  winds  and  waves  A^ould  allow  him;  but 
he  no  sooner  landed  than  his  army  deserted  him.  He 
then  took  refuge  in  Flint  Castle ;  but  Henry  of  Lancaster 
came  there  to  get  him,  and  by  false  promises  persuaded 
him  to  go  to  London  and  there  resign  his  crown. 

The  weak  Richard  offered  no  resistance  to  his  cousin's 
entreaties,  and  after  he  had  given  up  his  crown  to  Henry, 
he  withdrew  to  Pontefract  (pom'fret)  Castle,  where  he 
died  in  the  year  1400,  having  been  put  to  death,  some 
say,  by  his  cousin's  order.  Little  Queen  Isabella  showed 
more  spirit  than  he,  for  she  refused  to  recognize  Henry  as 
king,  and  scorned  to  marry  his  sen  when  she  became  a 
widow  at  twelve.  After  being  kept  a  prisoner  for  some 
time,  and  being  deprived  of  her  attendants  and  jewels,  she 
was  finally  allowed  to  go  back  to  her  father's  court. 


174 


LVIII.    HENRY'S   TROUBLES. 


RICHARD  H.  was  the  last  of  eight  real  Plantagenet 
or  Angevine  kings,  and  his  successor,  Henry  IV., 
was  the  first  ruler  of  the  house  of  Lancaster.  Although 
Richard  had  left  no  children,  Henry  could  not  claim  to 
inherit  the  throne,  because  the  seven-year-old  Earl  of 
March  was  next  of  kin.  But  Parliament  then  often  gave 
the  crown  to  any  member  of  the  royal  family. 

Henry  IV.  therefore  became  king  through  act  of  Parlia- 
ment. His  reign  was  not  free  from  care,  as  you  will  soon 
see,  for  at  first  there  were  so  many  quarrels  among  the 
members  of  Parliament  that  as  many  as  forty  challenges 
were  given  and  received  in  the  House  in  one  day.  Be- 
sides that,  a  conspiracy 
was  soon  formed  to  de- 
pose Henry  and  replace 
Richard.  To  show  that 
Richard's  death  was  not 
owing  to  violence,  his 
body  was  publicly  ex- 
posed in  London.  But 
as  only  the  face  was  vis- 
ible, people  never  felt 
sure  that  his  death  had 
been  natural. 

To  prevent  his  ene- 
mies from  trying  to  put  the  young  Earl  of  March  on  the 
throne,  Henry  kept  him  a  prisoner  in  Windsor  Castle,  and 
never  allowed  him  to  go  out,  except  under  safe  escort. 


mmm^ 


■\W/-j^S. 


#'(« 


Norman  Gateway,  Windsor  Castle. 


175 

As  Parliament  had  elected  him  king,  Henry  was  forced 
to  respect  its  wishes  and  to  grant  many  things  it  asked. 
He  also  tried  to  gain  the  friendship  of  pope  and  clergy, 
and  to  please  them  he  allowed  the  Lollards  to  be  perse- 
cuted, and  even  to  be  burned  at  the  stake,  as  heretics  or 
unbelievers. 

Henry's  conscience  often  troubled  him  sorely  for  the 
crime  he  had  committed  to  secure  the  crown,  and  he  lived 
in  constant  dread  of  seeing  some  one  snatch  the  crown 
from  him.  He  was  also  afraid  of  being  murdered  ;  for  we 
are  told  that  once,  wlien  about  to  get  into  his  bed,  he 
found  in  it  a  frightful  instrument  with  many  sharp  blades. 

Although  Wales  had  long  been  part  of  the  English  realm, 
Henry  IV.  had  to  put  down  a  rebellion  of  the  Welsh,  under 
Owen  Glendower  (glen'door),  a  descendant  of  Prince  Lle- 
wellyn. This  Welshman  pretended  to  be  a  magician,  and 
the  people,  excited  by  the  bards'  ballads,  gladly  rallied 
around  him.  For  seven  years  Glendower  baffled  all  Henry's 
efforts  to  capture  him,  for  he  and  his  followers  used  to 
retreat  to  Mount  Snowdon,  where  they  knew  every  foot 
of  the  ground  and  had  secret  hiding  places. 

A  war  with  Scotland  also  kept  Henry  busy,  although  it 
was  carried  on  mainly  b}^  Percy  Hotspur  and  his  father. 
They  won  a  victory  over  the  Scots  at  Hom'il-don  Hill; 
but  as  the  king  would  not  allow  them  to  sell  their  captives 
for  a  ransom,  they  revolted  and  joined  forces  with  the 
Scots.  Henry  met  the  Percys  and  Scotchmen  before  they 
could  join  the  Welsh  army,  and  defeated  them  in  the  bat- 
tle oi  Shrews'bur-y,  where  Percy  Hotspur  was  killed.  In 
this  battle  the  king's  eldest  son,  Prince  Hal,  showed  great 
bravery  ;  but  the  king  himself,  fearing  to  be  recognized  by 


176 

his  armour,  had  several  noblemen  dress  like  him.  Strange 
to  relate,  all  these  knights  were  killed,  while  Henry  escaped. 

The  Percy  rebellion  was  scarcely  quelled  when  Henry 
was  called  upon  to  put  down  another,  led  by  Archbishop 
Scrope  of  York,  who  wanted  to  place  the  Earl  of  March 
upon  the  throne.  His  force,  too,  was  defeated,  and  the 
priest  himself  was  beheaded  as  a  traitor,  a  punishment 
which  had  never  yet  befallen  a  member  of  the  clergy. 
The  common  people  fancied  it  was  very  wicked  to  execute 
an  archbishop,  even  if  he  had  sinned ;  and  w^hen  Henry 
became  ill  soon  after,  they  thought  it  was  a  punishment 
sent  by  Heaven. 

Two  years  after  the  battle  of  Shrewsbury,  Henry  IV. 
succeeded  in  capturing  the  heir  to  the  Scotch  crown,  who 
was  on  his  way  to  France  to  be  educated.  By  his  order, 
this  Prince  James,  the  great-great-grandson  of  the  famous 
Bruce,  was  brought  to  Windsor,  and  given  so  excellent 
an  education  that  he  afterwards  became  the  best  king 
who  ever  sat  upon  the  Scotch  throne,  as  well  as  a  musician 
and  a  poet. 


00>«CfCK>- 


LIX.    MADCAP    HARRY. 

AS  we  have  seen,  Henry  IV.  was  often  troubled  by 
/Y  remorse.  He  suffered  greatly,  and  had  so  many 
worries  that,  if  the  poet  Shakespeare  is  to  be  believed,  he 
once  said,  **  Uneasy  lies  the  head  that  wears  a  crown." 
Besides  his  remorse,  his  disease,  and  his  wars,  Henry  had 
another  source  of.  anxiety,  for  his  son.  Prince  Hal,  was  a 
very  wild  young  fellow. 


177 

He  was  not  altogether  bad,  for  he  had  proved  himself 
very  brave  as  a  soldier  and  had  even  shown  a  great  deal 
of  wisdom  in  his  father's  council ;  but  the  gay  life  of  Lon- 
don was  too  tempting,  and  in  the  company  of  noisy, 
bragging  companions,  Madcap  Harry,  as  the  prince  was 
often  called,  indulged  in  all  manner  of  unprincely  occupa- 
tions. He  even  went  so  far,  it  is  said,  as  to  waylay  and 
rob  peaceful  travellers.  In  doing  this  he  was,  of  course, 
breaking  the  law,  which,  as  prince,  he  should  have  been 
the  first  to  respect. 

After  one  of  these  highway  robberies,  so  the  story  runs, 
some  of  his  companions  were  arrested  and  brought  before 
Judge  Gascoigne  (gas-coin).  He  tried  them,  and,  finding 
them  guilty,  sentenced  them  to  the  usual  punishment. 
Prince  Hal,  who  was  present  at  the  trial,  strove  to  beg 
them  off ;  and  when  the  judge  refused  to  grant  his  re- 
quest, the  indignant  prince  struck  him. 

The  judge,  knowing  that  the  majesty  of  the  law  is 
greater  than  that  of  any  prince,  now  ordered  Madcap 
Harry  off  to  prison.  This  made  the  young  man  realize 
how  wrong  he  had  been,  so  he  apologized  to  the  judge, 
and  accepted  his  punishment  submissively.  When  this 
was  told  to  King  Henry  he  joyfully  exclaimed  :  "  Happy 
is  the  king  who  possesses  a  judge  who  is  not  afraid  to  do 
his  duty,  and  a  son  who  is  wise  enough  to  submit  to  the 
law!" 

In  the  end  of  Henry's  reign  troops  were  sent  to  France 
to  side  with  one  of  the  parties  engaged  in  civil  war  there. 
But  although  the  king  had  been  a  mighty  fighter,  he  no 
longer  took  great  interest  in  the  war,  for  he  was  rapidly 
growing  worse. 


178 

During  one  of  his  prolonged  fainting  fits  it  is  said  that 
Prince  Hal  came  into  the  room,  and,  fancying  he  was  dead, 
carried  off  the  crown.  As  soon  as  Henry  recovered,  he 
asked  for  it,  and  when  the  prince  brought  it  back,  he  said: 
"  Alas,  fair  son!  what  right  have  you  to  the  crown,  when 
you  know  your  father  had  none?  " 

"My  liege,"  answered  the  prince,  firmly,  **  with  your 
sword  you  won  it,  and  with  the  sword  I  will  keep  it." 

A  few  days  later  the  king  had  another  fainting  fit,  while 
he  was  at  prayers  in  Westminster  Abbey.  He  was  carried 
into  the  abbot's  room  ;  there  he  opened  his  eyes  and  asked 
where  he  was.  They  told  him  he  was  in  the  *'  Jerusalem 
Chamber."  Suddenly  he  remembered  an  old  prophecy 
that  he  should  die  in  Jerusalem,  and,  refusing  to  be  re- 
moved, he  breathed  his  last  in  that  apartment. 

Perhaps  the  most  famous  man  in  Henry's  reign  was 
Whit'ting-ton,  whose  name  you  may  have  heard  in  nursery 
rhymes.  He  was  the  son  of  a  nobleman  ;  but  as  his  father 
had  lost  all  his  money,  he  went  off  to  London  to  make  his 
fortune.  He  became  the  apprentice  of  a  cloth  merchant, 
but  grew  discouraged  because  he  had  no  friends,  and  left 
London. 

But,  so  runs  the  story,  when  he  got  outside  the  city  and 
sat  down  to  rest,  his  only  friend,  a  cat,  rubbing  against  his 
knees,  he  suddenly  heard  the  Bow  bells  ring.  The  sound 
came  to  his  ears,  loud  and  clear,  and  the  bells  seemed  to 
say :  **  Turn  again,  Whittington,  thrice  Lord  Mayor  of 
London."  Encouraged  by  such  prospects,  Whittington 
picked  up  his  cat  and  went  back  to  London.  There  he 
tried  so  hard  that  he  became  a  good  and  rich  man,  and 
was  actually  elected  three  times  Lord  Mayor  of  London. 


179 

When  Whittiiig'ton  died,  ten  \ears  after  Ilenry  IV.,  he 
left  all  his  immense  fortune  to  the  poor,  to  found  several 
charitable  institutions. 

Some  people,  however,  say  that  Whittington's  fortune 
was  all  made  by  a  ship  called  the  Cat,  which  brought  coal 
from  New'cas-tle  to  London  to  be  sold  at  great  profit. 
Others  say  that  Whittington's  cat  was  his  old  friend  the 
real  pussy,  which  he  sent  away  to  be  sold  in  the  East; 
there  it  brought  a  large  price,  and  thus  proved  the  begin- 
ning of  his  fortune. 

o-O^^^Oo 


LX.    A    GLORIOUS    REIGN. 

WHEN  Henry  of  Monmouth,  the  wild  Prince  Hal, 
heard  that  his  father  was  dead,  he  went  into  his 
own  room,  and  there  spent  the  night  in  meditation  and 
prayer.  He  was  very  sorry  for  the  i)ast,  and  fully  deter- 
mined to  do  better  in  the  future.  When  morning  came 
he  put  these  good  resolutions  into  practice.  First,  he  sent 
for  his  former  companions  and  told  them  that  he  was  go- 
ing to  reform  and  that  he  did  not  wish  to  see  them  again 
until  they  were  willing  to  follow  his  example. 

Next,  he  sent  for  the  grave  and  learned  men  who  had 
helped  his  father,  and  begged  them  to  gi\e  him  also  their 
advice;  and  he  told  Judge  Gascoigne  —  whom  he  hon- 
oured for  doing  right,  regardless  of  rank  —  that  he  hoped 
his  judges  would  always  administer  justice  in  the  same 
way. 

Having  thus  won  his  greatest  victory  by  conquering 
himself,  the  new  king  set  the  Earl  of  March  free,  restored 

STO.   OF    E\(',.  — 12 


i8o 


their  estates  to  the  Percys,  and  buried  Richard  II.  and 
Henry  IV.  among  the  other  kings. 

Henry  V.  was  able,  energetic,  and  brave,  as  well  as  hand- 
some and  warm-hearted  ;  so  he  soon  won  the  affections  of 
his  subjects.  His  greatest  fault  was  that  he  soreh'  perse- 
cuted the  Lollards,  whom  he  had  been  taught  to  believ'C 
very  wicked.  By  his  order,  many  of  them  were  burned, 
among  others  old  Lord  Cobham,  who,  because  he  had  once 
escaped  from  prison  and  joined  some  rebels,  was  accused 
of  treason  and  heresy,  and  was  consequently  both  burned 
and  hanged. 

The  new  king,  however,  was  most  anxious  to  conquer 
new  lands.  As  the  French  king  was  insane,  and  as  his 
two  principal  subjects,  the  Dukes  of  Or'le-ans  and  Bur- 
gundy, were  warring  against  each  other,  Henry  fancied 
that  it  was  a  good  time  to  invade  France.  He  therefore 
renewed  the  claim  to  the  French  crown  which  had  already 
been  made  by  Edward  III.,  and  landed  at  Harfleur 
(ar-fler')   with   an    army   of  fifteen   thousand   men. 

This  city  held  out  four  months,  hoping  the  French  army 
would  come  to  its  rescue ;  but  the  troops  could  not  leave 
Paris,  as  there  was  a  quarrel  about  who  should  ha\e  com- 
mand. Seeing  no  help  coming,  the  people  of  Harfleur 
were  forced  to  surrender ;  but  by  this  time  the  English 
soldiers  were  nearly  all  sick. 

Marching  at  the  head  of  his  army,  and  sharing  all  tlieir 
hardships,  Henry  now  set  out  for  Calais;  but  on  tlie  wa}- 
thither  he  was  met  by  a  French  army  of  fifty  thousand 
men.  In  spite  of  the  great  odds  against  him,  the  English 
king  did  not  lose  his  presence  of  mind,  and  in  liis  address 
to  his  troops  he  said  that  he  intended  to  win  great  glory, 


i8i 


either  by  victory  or  by  death.      When  a  soldier  remarked 
that  h.e  wished  some  of  his  countrymen  were  there  to  help 


Sir  John  Gilbert,  Artist. 


The  Morning  of  the  Battle  of  Agincourt. 

them  fight,  the  king  cried  :  "  If  we  are  to  die,  I  am  glad 
we  are  so  few ;  but  if  we  are  to  conquer,  our  glory  will  be 
all  the  2f"reater  if  unshared." 

The  French  army  consisted  mainly  of  heavy  cavalry, 
and  as  the  ground  was  soaked  with  rain,  the  horses  sank 
into  the  mud  up  to  their  knees.  This  fact  told  greatly  in 
favour  of  the  light-armed  English  bowmen,  who,  in  spite 
of  the  bravery  of  the  French,  won  a  brilliant  victory  (141 5). 

Henry  himself  did  wonders,  and  when  the  battle  of 
Agincourt  (ah-zhaN-koor')  was  ended,  it  was  found  that 
while  the  English  had  lost  only  forty  men,  the  French  slain 
numbered  more  than  ten   thousand.      The   next  day  the 


182 


dead  were  buried;  and  when  Henry  went  back  to  Eng- 
land, his  people  rushed  into  the  water  at  Dover  to  meet 
him  and  give  him  an  uproarious  welcome. 

Two  years  after  this  battle  Henry  went  back  to  France 
with  a  new  army.  He  besieged  and  took  Rouen  after  ten 
months'  effort,  and  finally  became  master  of  the  greater 
part  of  France.  The  troubles  in  that  kingdom  had  by  this 
time  grown  so  serious  that  many  Frenchmen  joined  Henry, 
and  a  treaty  was  finally  signed  at  Troyes  (trwah)  in  1420. 
It  was  then  agreed  that  Henry  should  marry  the  French 
king's  daughter,  and  that  when  the  insane  monarch  died 
the  King  of  England  should  reign  in  France  too. 

So  Henry  made  a  triumphal  entry  into  Paris,  wdiere  he 
first  saw  Catherine,  his  future  wife.      If  you  care  to  know 


W.  F.    Ytames,  AiUst. 


Wooing  of  Henry  V, 


1.8 


-) 


how  an  English  king  who  knew  very  httle  French  could 
make  love  to  a  French  princess  who  knew  only  a  few 
words  of  English,  you  can  read  all  about  it  in  one  of 
Shakespeare's  plays. 

During  the  next  two  years  Henry  and  Catherine  were 
very  happy,  l^ut  before  their  little  son  was  a  year  old, 
Henry  V.  became  very  ill.  He  named  his  brother,  the 
Duke  of  Gloucester,  Regent  of  England,  said  the  Duke  of 
Bedford  must  rule  France,  and  gave  the  guardianship  of 
his  little  son  to  another  nobleman. 

Henry  died  in  France,  at  the  age  of  thirty-four,  and  his 
body  was  carried  home  to  be  buried.  His  funeral  was  the 
grandest  that  had  yet  been  seen  in  England,  and  upon  his 
tomb,  in  Westminster  Abbey,  tapers  were  kept  burning 
constantly  for  more  than  a  hundred  years. 

As  Henry  had  to  take  so  many  troops  over  to  France, 
he  had  many  sliips  built ;  and  he  has  hence  sometimes  been 
called  the  founder  of  the  English  navy.  He  was  a  very 
brave  king,  but  although  he  won  much  glory,  he  burdened 
England  with  debt,  and  by  his  unjust  wars  caused  the 
death  of  about  one  hundred  thousand  men. 


o-o>©<o<> 

LXl.    THE    MAID    OF    ORLEANS. 

WHEN  Henry  V.  died,  his  only  child,  Henry  VI.,  was 
nine  months  old.  The  English  crown  was  far  too 
large  and  heavy  for  this  baby  monarch's  head,  and  when 
the  sceptre  was  brought,  his  tiny  hand  clutched  it  as  if  it 
had  been  a  mere  rattle.      Fortunately  for  him,  Henry  VI. 


i84 

had  two  very  able  uncles,  the  Dukes  of  Gloucester  and 
Bedford,  who  governed  England  and  France  for  him. 

Two  months  after  the  death  of  Henry,  the  insane  mon- 
arch of  France  breathed  his  last.  According  to  the  treaty 
of  Troyes,  Henry  VI.  was  now  King  of  France  ;  but  the 
Dauphin  Charles,  the  eldest  son  of  the  mad  king,  also 
claimed  the  crown,  which  by  right  did  really  belong  to 
him. 

The  northern  part  of  France  was  now  in  the  hands  of 
the  English,  who  in  fun  called  the  dauphin  King  of  Bourges 
(boorzh),  because  they  said  he  ruled  only  the  province 
around  a  small  town  of  that  name.  Charles  had  very  few 
troops,  but  he  often  secured  the  help  of  the  Scots,  who 
hated  the  English  because  they  kept  the  Scotch  king, 
James  I.,  a  prisoner.  The  baby  king's  uncles  now  agreed  to 
set  James  free,  provided  the  Scots  paid  for  his  eighteen 
years'  board,  and  promised  they  would  not  help  tlie  French 
or  make  war  against  the  English  for  a  term  of  se\'enteen 
years. 

It  now  seemed  as  if  all  would  go  well  for  the  English. 
The  Duke  of  Bedford,  who  was  as  good  a  warrior  as  Henry 
v.,  declared  that  as  soon  as  he  became  master  of  the  town 
of  Orleans,  which  he  was  then  besieging,  he  would  con- 
sider all  France  conquered.  Just  then,  however,  a  poor 
peasant  girl,  Joan  of  Arc,  fancied  that  she  had  been  chosen 
by  Heaven  to  save  her  country  from  the  English.  She 
was  good  and  earnest,  and  spoke  so  convincingly  tliat 
people  finally  believed  her.  A  knight  from  the  neigh- 
bourhood took  her  to  Bourges,  where  the  king  and  his  ad- 
visers allowed  her  to  do  as  she  wished  and  lead  an  army 
to  the  rescue  of  Orleans. 


185 

The  common  soldiers,  who  were  very  superstitious,  be- 
lieved that  Joan  had  seen  visions  and  had  spoken  to  angels, 
so  they  were  ready  to  do  all  she  told  them.  They  felt  sure 
they  would  win  as  long  as  she  led  them  on.  The  rumour 
of  lier  mission  soon  reached  the  ears  of  the  English  sol- 
diers, who  dreaded  her  appearance,  and  said  that  if  Heaven 
had  sent  her,  their  resistance  would  be  vain. 

This  state  of  feeling  in  the  two  armies  grew  much  more 
marked  when  Joan  actually  fought  her  way  into  Orleans, 
bringing  provisions  to  the  famished  inhabitants.  They 
recei\'ed  her  with  rapture,  and  called  her  the  "  Maid  of 
Orleans."  But  Joan  was  not  yet  satisfied,  and  she  vowed 
she  would  not  rest  until  she  had  driven  the  Enolish  away 
from  Orleans  and  taken  the  dauphin  to  Rheims  to  be 
crowned  in  the  same  cathedral  as  all  the  kings  before  him. 

Joan  kept  her  word.  The  English  fled  as  she  drew  near. 
Town  after  town  opened  its  gates  when  she  appeared, 
wearing  a  suit  of  armour  like  a  man,  and  sitting  astride  a 
great  battle  steed.  Advancing  thus,  she  won  back  many 
of  the  lost  provinces,  and  at  last  Charles  VII.  was  formally 
crowned.  Tlien  she  said  that  her  mission  was  ended,  and 
begged  permission  to  go  home  and  tend  her  sheep. 

But  the  king  would  not  let  her  go,  and  the  generals, 
knowing  the  effect  of  her  presence  upon  the  minds  of  both 
armies,  urofed  her  to  remain.  loan  of  Arc  sadh'  \'ielded 
to  their  entreaties,  but  all  her  joyous  confidence  now  for- 
sook her.  The  result  was  that  in  spite  of  her  courage  the 
French  soldiers  ceased  to  believe  in  her.  One  da)^  when 
she  liad  headed  a  sally  from  the  town  r)f  Compiegne  (cawN- 
pyan'),  they  even  treacherously  forsook  her. 

Poor  Joan  fell  into  the  hands  of  a  French  knight,  an  ally 


i86 


of  the  English,  and  he,  seeing  that  her  king  had  basely 
deserted  her,  sold  her  into  their  hands.  Joan  of  Arc  was 
then  thrust  into  prison,  treated  with  the  most  inhuman 
cruelty,  and,  after  being  accused  of  heresy  and  witchcraft, 
she  was  burned  at  the  stake  in  Rouen,  and  her  ashes  were 
cast  into  the  Seine!  But  the  heroic  Maid  of  Orleans  died 
so  bravely,  on  the  very  square  where  her  statue  now 
stands,  that  the  English  soldiers  began  to  fear  that  they 
had  killed  a  saint.  Their  dread,  and  the  Frenchmen's 
indignation,  gave  the  latter  the  advantage,  and  at  each 
new  defeat  the  English  cried  that  it  was  a  judgment 
against  them  for  burning  Joan. 

When  the  Duke  of  Bedford  saw  that  France  was  lost, 
he  died  of  ""rief,  and  was  buried  in  Rouen.  Some  time 
afterwards  Charles  VII.  became  master  of  that  city,  and 
his  soldiers  proposed  to  open  the  duke's  tomb  and  scatter 
his  ashes  abroad ;  but  the  duke  had  fought  so  bravely  that 
Charles  would  not  allow  this,  and  said:  "  No;  let  him  re- 
pose in  peace  ;  and  be  thankful  that  he  does  repose,  for 
were  he  to  awake  he  would  make  the  stoutest  of  us 
tremble." 

The  war  between  France  and  England  went  on  several 
years  longer,  with  occasional  pauses.  But  the  French 
steadily  advanced,  and  the  English  finally  found  that  the 
Hundred  Years'  War,  which  lasted  from  about  1338  to 
1453,  cost  them  no  end  of  men  and  money,  but  brought 
them  little  besides  the  sflory  won  in  the  three  ";reat  battles 
of  Crccy,  Poitiers,  and  Agincourt.  During  the  reign  of 
Henry  VI.  they  lost,  in  fact,  all  the  territory  they  had 
won  in  France,  except  the  city  of  Calais,  which  they  were 
to  hold  for  another  century. 


i87 


LXII.    THE    BEGINNING    OF    THE    WAR 
OF    THE    ROSES. 

HENRY  VI.  was  carefully  brought  up  by  his  great- 
uncle,  Cardinal  Beau'fort.  But  he  was,  unfortu- 
nately, not  very  clever.  He  was  very  quiet  and  timid, 
and  as  he  had  no  will  of  his  own  and  was  easily  flattered 
and  directed,  the  people  around  him  fancied  it  would  be 
the  best  thing  for  him  to  marry  a  clever  wife. 

But  Cardinal  Beaufort  and  the  Duke  of  Gloucester  could 
not  agree  who  this  wife  should  be  ;  and  when  Henry  VI., 
at  twenty-four,  married  the  fifteen-year-old  Margaret 
of  Anjou,  Gloucester  was  very  angry.  To  obtain  this 
bright  }-oLmg  princess  for  his  stupid  nephew,  the  cardinal 
had  to  give  up  two  French  provinces,  and  to  accept  her 
without  a  dowry. 

One  reason  that  Gloucester  had  so  far  lost  his  influence 
was  that  he  had  fallen  into  dis«^race  with  the  kin"'  a  few 
years  before.  His  wife  tried  to  harm  the  king  by  witch- 
craft, in  the  hope  that  her  own  husband  might  then  come 
to  the  throne.  With  this  object,  she  made  a  waxen  image 
of  Henry  and  set  it  before  the  fire,  believing  that  as  the 
wax  melted,  the  king's  strength  would  leave  him.  Of 
course  this  belief  was  the  greatest  nonsense,  but  it  was  very 
common  in  those  days,  and  the  duchess's  intentions  were 
no  better  for  the  fact  that  her  way  of  carrying  them  out 
was  so  foolish.  In  punishment  she  was  forced  to  do  pub- 
lic penance  by  walking  through  the  streets  holding  a  lighted 
taper,  and  then  was  imprisoned  for  life. 

Little  by  little  the  king's  total  incapacity  became  more 


i88 


evident.  Everything  was  going  wrong,  and  the  queen 
and  her  advisers  made  things  worse.  The  people  began 
to  murmur,  and  some  said  it  was  no  wonder  that  things 
were  not  right  when  the  country  was  ruled  by  an  idiot 
king,  wlio,  after  all,  had  no  real  claim  to  the  throne. 

For  the  people  now  remembered  that  the  Lancasters 
were  descended  from  the  third  son  of  Edward  III.,  while 
the  Duke  of  York,  on  his  mother's  side,  was  the  direct 
descendant  of  the  second  son.  The  Duke  of  York,  more- 
over, was  a  very  popular  man,  so  the  people  said  he  ought 
to  be  king,  or  at  least  to  govern  instead  of  the  queen  and 
her  adviser  Suffolk.  They  next  accused  Suffolk  of  havino- 
spent  a  great  deal  of  money  to  no  purpose,  and  of  having 
lost  France  by  his  carelessness.  He  was  tried  and  found 
guilty,  but  the  queen  pleaded  so  hard  for  him  that  he  was 
merely  exiled  for  five  years  instead  of  being  condemned  to 
death.  This  did  not  please  his  enemies,  who  overtook  him 
at  sea,  and  beheaded  him  on  the  side  of  a  boat. 

The  nobles  were,  as  you  see,  discontented  with  the  state 
of  affairs.  So  were  many  of  the  poor,  who  finally  rebelled 
and  came  marching  to  London,  led  by  Jack  Cade.  These 
twenty  thousand  men  defeated  the  king's  troops  at  Seven- 
oaks,  and  marched  into  London,  where  their  leader  proudly 
struck  an  old  Roman  milestone,  called  the  "  London  Stone," 
crying,  **  I  am  master  of  London." 

The  mob  was  at  first  quite  orderly,  and  only  made  a 
"  complaint,"  in  which  the  people  said  the  king  had  bad 
advisers  and  asked  that  a  few  laws  should  be  changed. 
After  a  while,  however,  they  became  excited  and  killed 
several  prominent  men.  When  they  left  the  city,  to  spend 
the  night  in  their  camp  at  Southwark,  the  troops  guarded 


iSg 

London  Bridge,  and  would  not  allow  them  to  return  the 
next  day.  A  proclamation  was  then  made,  promising 
pardon  and  redress  if  they  dispersed.  So  they  scattered  ; 
but  their  leader,  Jack  Cade,  upon  whose  head  a  price  had 
been  set,  was  overtaken  and  killed,  and  his  head  was 
placed  on  London  Bridge  to  serve  as  a  warning  to  rebels. 

The  poor  weak  king  became  quite  insane  in  1454,  so 
Parliament  decreed  that  the  Duke  of  York  should  govern 
in  his  stead  as  Protector.  This  decision  made  the  queen 
very  angry,  and  when  the  king  recovered  a  gleam  of  rea- 
son, she  made  him  send  York  away  and  give  the  power 
to  her  and  her  new  adviser  Som'er-set. 

The  result  was  that  there  were  now  two  parties  In  the 
country.  The  one  in  favour  of  the  queen  and  Somerset 
was  called  the  Lancaster  party  and  wore  a  red  rose  as 
badge.  The  party  in  favour  of  the  Duke  of  York  was 
called  the  York  party  and  wore  a  white  rose.  These  two 
parties,  not  content  with  quarrelling,  soon  began  fighting, 
and  the  civil  war  they  waged  was  called  the  War  of  the 
Roses. 

0-0>eSjCK) 


LXIII.    THE    OUEEN    AND    THE    BRIGAND. 

THE  War  of  the  Roses  began  about  two  years  after  the 
Hundred  Years'  War  ended.  It  lasted  nearly  thirty 
vears,  and  in  it  twelve  battles  were  fought  and  about  one 
hundred  thousand  people  perished.  It  was  in  many  re- 
spects worse  than  the  Hundred  Years'  War,  because  now 
the  Englisli  were  fighting  against  one  another,  and  because 
they  displayed  great  cruelty  and  showed  no  mercy. 


-  1 90 

In  the  first  great  battle  of  the  War  of  the  Roses,  that 
of  St.  Albans,  the  Duke  of  Somerset  was  killed,  and  the 
Yorkists  captured  the  poor  wounded  king.  Then  for  a 
short  time  the  Duke  of  York  was  again  protector.  But 
the  party  of  Lancaster  rallied  around  the  queen  to  con- 
tinue the  struggle. 

The  Duke  of  York,  finding  that  many  people  were  op- 
posed to  the  idea  of  his  being  king,  now  went  off  to  Ireland, 
leaving  his  cause  in  the  hands  of  his  brother-in-law,  the 
Earl  of  Warwick,  who  was  one  of  the  richest  men  in  Eng- 
land. This  nobleman  had  lands  and  castles,  thirty  thou- 
sand people  were  fed  at  his  tables  every  day,  and  as  he  was 
well  liked  he  could  raise  an  army  whenever  he  pleased. 

Left  at  the  head  of  the  Yorkist  party,  Warwick  collected 
troops,  and  defeated  the  Lan-cas'tri-ans  at  the  battle  of 
Northampton.  Henry  VI.  was  again  captured,  and  was 
now  forced  to  recognize  the  Duke  of  York  as  his  heir.  But 
Queen  Margaret,  at  the  head  of  a  Lancastrian  army,  soon 
defeated  the  Yorkists  at  Wakefield,  and  in  this  battle  the 
Duke  of  York  was  killed.  By  Margaret's  order,  his  head 
was  cut  off  and  exhibited  upon  the  walls  of  York,  wearing 
a  paper  crown. 

Margaret,  encouraged  by  this  victory,  now  marched  on 
London  to  deliver  the  captive  king.  But  she  was  met  on 
the  way  by  Warwick,  and  at  St.  Albans  a  second  battle 
took  place,  in  which  the  queen  was  victorious.  Warwick 
was  forced  to  flee,  leaving  the  king  in  her  hands. 

As  Margaret's  followers  had  disgraced  themselves  by 
plundering  all  along  the  road,  London  refused  to  admit 
her  when  she  appeared,  and  preferred  to  open  its  gates  to 
the  new  Duke  of  York.      Warwick,  who  entered  with  him, 


191 

then  asked  the  people  whether  they  wanted  a  York  or  a 
Lancaster  for  king,  and  they  clamoured  for  a  York.  So 
Warwick  led  his  nephew  to  Westminster,  where  he  was 
publicly  proclaimed  as  Edward  IV.,  King"  of  England. 

The  new  king  was  only  nineteen,  but  he  was  handsome 
and  clever,  and  would  have  made  a  good  ruler,  had  he  not 
been  cruel  and  self-indulgent.  As  the  Lancastrians  would 
not  submit,  he  fought  against  them  at  Towton,  where  he 
celebrated  his  victory  by  being  even  more  harsh  than 
usual.  After  this  battle  he  was  formallv  crowned  as  kintJ", 
and  he  named  his  two  brothers,  George  and  Richard, 
Dukes  of  Clarence  and  Gloucester. 

Queen  Margaret  fled  to  Scotland  with  her  helpless  hus- 
band and  son,  and,  having  secured  new  troops  by  jour- 
neying twice  to  France,  she  invaded  England.  But  the 
Lancastrians  were  again  defeated  in  the  battles  of  Hedgeley 
Moor  and  Hexham.  The  deposed  king,  Henry  VL,  escaped 
only  because  he  was  well  mounted  ;  but  after  dodging  his 
enemies  for  about  a  year,  he  was  betrayed  into  their  hands. 
Warwick  tied  his  feet  under  his  horse,  made  him  ride  around 
the  pillory  (whipping  post),  and,  after  many  similar  indig- 
nities, thrust  him  into  the  Tower. 

As  for  Oueen  Mareraret,  she  fled  with  her  little  son.  In 
crossing  a  forest,  she  fell  into  the  hands  of  a  party  of  brig- 
ands. While  these  men  were  quarrelling  o\-er  the  division 
of  her  jewels,  she  managed  to  escape  with  her  son.  But 
she  had  not  gone  far  before  she  met  another  robber. 
Stepping  up  to  him  boldly,  she  pushed  her  boy  towards 
him,  saying,  *'  Protect  the  son  of  }'our  king." 

Thus  appealed  to,  the  brigand  led  the  queen  and  prince 
to  his  retreat,  where  he  hid  them  for  a  few  days.      Then 


W.  Christian  Sijmons,  Artist. 

(^92)  Margaret  of  Anjou  and  the  Robber. 


^93 

he  helped  them  to  cross  over  to  France,  where  Queen 
Marc^aret  haci  manv  friends.  It  was  well  for  her  that  she 
managed  to  escape,  fc^r  all  the  nobles  who  had  sided  witli 
lier  were  now  reduced  to  beggary.  We  are  told  tliat  one 
Lancastrian  lord  had  to  become  a  shepherd,  and  that  the 
Countess  of  Oxford  had  to  support  her  family  by  doin 
needlework  and  by  begging  in  the  streets. 


f  r 


-->o:^«c^c 


LXIV.    THE    TRIUMPH    OF    THE    YORKS. 

W WARWICK,  not  satisfied  with  reducing  the  Lancas- 
trians to  poverty  and  placing  his  nephew  upon  the 
throne,  now  began  to  scheme  to  make  the  king  marry 
some  great  princess.  But  while  he  w^as  trying  to  find  a 
royal  bride  for  Edward,  the  latter  suddenly  married  a 
beautiful  widow  named  Elizabeth  Woodville.  This  step 
made  Warwick  angry,  and  when  he  saw  that  the  new 
queen's  father,  brothers,  sisters,  and  numerous  other  rela- 
tives had  been  given  all  the  most  important  places  at 
court,  and  w^ere  behaving  with  great  insolence,  he  was  in- 
dignant. 

The  king's  brother,  the  Duke  of  Clarence,  now  married 
Warwick's  daughter;  and,  helped  by  him  and  by  Richard 
of  Gloucester,  Warwick  began  to  plan  his  revenge.  He 
formed  a  plot  to  place  Henry  VI.  on  the  throne  again,  in- 
stead of  Edward,  provided  Henry's  son  should  marry 
Warwick's  other  daughter. 

Queen  Margaret  and  her  son  gladly  consented  to  this, 
and    in    1470  Warwick   landed   in   England    with   a  large 


194 

army  to  take  the  throne  away  from  Edward.  Many  of 
the  noblemen,  who  were  jealous  of  the  VVoodvilles,  now 
joined  Warwick,  and  Edward  IV.,  seeing  it  was  useless 
to  try  to  resist,  made  his  escape  on  a  fishing  vessel.  His 
wife,  Elizabeth,  w^as  too  ill  to  go  with  him,  so  she  took 
refuge  in  a  church,  where  her  son,  the  future  Edward  V., 
was  born. 

As  soon  as  Warwick  reached  London,  Henry  was 
dragged  out  of  prison,  and  made  king  once  more  by  the 
very  man  who  had  helped  crown  his  enemy.  But  he  was 
not  to  reign  long,  for  the  Yorkists,  regaining  courage  and 
being  led  by  Edward  IV,,  won  the  victory  of  Bar'net.  In 
this  battle  Warwick  the  "  kingmaker,"  the  last  of  the  great 
barons  who  used  to  lead  their  vassals  to  war,  was  killed. 
With  his  death  the  age  of  chivalry  was  over. 

The  Duke  of  Clarence  basely  deserted  Warwick  at  the 
last  minute,  and  joined  his  brother,  who  forgave  him  for 
his  rebellion.  Warwick  was  closeh'  followed  by  Queen 
Margaret  with  another  army.  When  she  landed,  she  heard 
of  her  all3^'s  defeat  and  death ;  but,  seeing  it  was  too  late 
to  withdraw,  she  pressed  onward. 

The  Lancastrians  and  Yorkists  met  for  their  last  battle 
at  Tewkes'bur-y,  where  the  former  were  defeated,  and 
where  Margaret  and  her  son  both  fell  into  the  hands  of 
Edward  IV.  King  Edward  then  angrily  asked  the  prince 
how  he  dared  come  into  his  kingdom  in  arms. 

''  I  came  to  recover  my  father's  kingdom,"  proudly 
answered  the  young  prince.  But  these  words  made  Ed- 
ward so  angry  that  he  struck  the  youth.  This  was  enough 
for  the  Dukes  of  Clarence  and  Gloucester ;  they  imme- 
diately drew  their  daggers  and    murdered   their  captive. 


195 

Poor  Queen  Margaret  was  thrust  into  prison,  but  after 
lingering  there  five  years,  she  was  ransomed  by  her  father, 
who  sold  all  his  estates  to  free  her. 

Edward  IV.,  having  won  the  battle  of  Tewkesbury, 
went  back  to  London  in  triumph.  On  the  next  day, 
Henry  VI.,  the  last  of  the  three  Lancastrian  kings,  was 
found  dead  in  his  prison. 

Although  he  had  won  back  his  throne,  Edward  IV.  was 
not  very  happy.  As  he  was  always  afraid  lest  some  one 
should  try  to  snatch  the  power  from  him,  he  hired  ever  so 
many  spies  to  watch  the  princes  and  report  all  they  said. 
Then,  hoping  to  recover  France,  he  collected  a  large  army  ; 
but  when  he  got  over  there,  instead  of  making  use  of  it, 
he  concluded  a  disgraceful  peace.  When  he  came  home, 
Gloucester,  envious  of  his  brother  the  Duke  of  Clarence, 
poisoned  the  king's  mind  against  him.  This  was  easy,  for 
the  behaviour  of  Clarence  was  such  as  to  anger  a  king  who 
liked  to  ha\e  his  own  way. 

Some  say  that  the  king's  suspicion  of  him  came  from 
an  old  prophecy  that  a  man  whose  name  began  with  G 
should  kill  the  king's  children.  However  this  may  be, 
George,  Duke  of  Clarence,  was  soon  arrested,  tried  by 
Parliament,  found  guilty  of  treason,  and  condemned  to  die. 
We  are  told  that,  being  given  his  choice,  Clarence  begged 
to  be  drowned  in  a  butt  of  malmsey,  his  favourite  wine. 

After  Clarence's  death,  Richard,  the  Duke  of  Gloucester, 
was  the  most  influential  man  at  court,  and  he  encouraged 
the  king  to  be  very  cruel  and  tyrannical.  Under  the 
Lancasters,  and  indeed  ever  since  the  time  of  Edward  II., 
Parliament  had  had  much  power,  and  England  was  what 
is  called  a  constitutional  monarchy,  or  a  kingdom  ruled  by 

STO.   OF    ENG.  — 13 


196 


fixed  laws.  But  under  the  Yorks  the  power  of  Parliament 
grew  less  and  less,  and  the  monarchy  became  almost  abso- 
lute ;  that  is  to  say,  the  king  did  just  as  he  pleased. 

Great  changes  were  brought  about  at  this  time  by  the  in- 
troduction of  printing  by  Caxton.      This  man  had  learned 


Daniel  Maclise,  Artist. 


King  Edward  IV.  visiting  Caxton's  Press. 


printing  on  the  Continent,  and  he  brought  the  first  press 
to  London.  Among  the  first  books  which  he  printed  was 
*' The  Game  and  Playe  of  the  Chesse,"  for  people  were 
then  very  fond  of  that  game. 


-o-0>^00- 


LXV.    THE    PRINCES    IN    THE    TOWER. 


BEFORE    Edward    IV.   died,    he    foresaw   that    there 
might  be  trouble  between  his  brother  Richard  and 
his  wife's  kindred,  so  he  used  his  last  breath  to  implore 


197 

them  to  be  friends.  As  soon  as  he  was  dead,  two  of  the 
queen's  relatives,  Earl  Rivers  and  Lord  Grey,  took  charge 
of  Edward  V.,  the  eldest  son  and  successor  of  the  king, 
while  the  queen  withdrew  into  a  sanctuary  with  her  other 
children.  Edward  V.  was  on  his  way  to  be  crowned  at 
London,  when  his  uncle  Richard,  Duke  of  Gloucester, 
came  to  meet  him.  During  the  first  day's  journey  all  went 
well,  but  on  the  second  day  Richard  suddenly  had  Rivers 
and  Grey  seized  by  his  guards.  They  were  then  dragged 
off  to  prison  in  spite  of  the  little  king's  entreaties. 

Having  thus  got  rid  of  the  queen's  relatives,  Richard, 
whose  plan  was  to  secure  the  throne  for  himself,  led  the 
little  king  to  the  Tower,  where  he  was  to  stay  until  his 
coronation.  Then,  calling  Parliament,  Richard  got  from 
it  the  title  of  Protector,  for  Edward  was  too  young  to 
reign  alone. 

A  few  days  later,  Richard  suddenly  accused  Lord  Has- 
tings, a  friend  of  the  late  king,  of  treason.  In  proof,  he 
showed  his  deformed  arm,  and  told  the  assembled  council 
that  its  shrunken  appearance  was  due  to  the  witchcraft  of 
Hastings's  friends.  Now  every  one  knew  that  this  was 
not  true,  but  no  one  dared  oppose  Richard.  He  there- 
fore called  the  guards,  and  bade  them  immediately  be- 
head Lord  Hastings,  adding  that  he  would  not  dine  until 
he  knew  the  traitor  was  dead. 

The  guards  obeyed,  and  Lord  Hastings  was  beheaded 
in  the  courtyard,  on  a  convenient  log  of  wood,  without  any 
further  trial.  Then  some  guards  were  sent  off  to  Ponte- 
fract  Castle,  where  Rivers  and  Grey  were  put  to  death, 
under  the  pretext  that  they  also  were  traitors. 

Thus  rid  of  the  men  who  would  have  been  most  likely 


198 

to  oppose  him,  Richard,  still  pretending  that  he  was  de- 
voted to  the  little'  king,  sent  for  the  latter's  brother,  Rich- 
ard, Duke  of  York.  The  queen  hated  to  let  her  second 
son  go,  but  he  joyfully  entered  the  Tower  to  join  his 
brother.  As  Richard  now  had  both  of  these  princes  in  his 
power,  he  made  his  friend  Buck'ing-ham  tell  the  people 
that  they  were  not  the  dead  king's  own  offspring,  and  that 
he,  Richard  of  Gloucester,  ought  to  be  king. 

Buckingham  managed  so  cleverly  that  he  persuaded  a 
few  persons  to  go  and  offer  the  crown  to  Richard.  The 
latter  pretended  at  first  to  be  shocked  and  surprised;  but 
finally  he  accepted  the  crown  and  the  title  of  Richard  III. 
Still,  although  he  had  a  grand  coronation  feast,  he  felt 
that  he  should  nevei  be  safe  so  long  as  his  brother's  sons 
were  alive;  so  he  resolved  to  put  them  to  death. 

Two  murderers  were  therefore  sent  to  the  Tower,  bear- 
ing an  order  to  the  governor,  who  was  forced  to  give  up 
his  keys  to  them  for  one  night.  When  the  governor  came 
back  the  next  day,  he  rushed  to  the  princes'  room,  but 
found  it  empty.  A  few  days  later  it  became  generally 
known  that  the  little  princes  were  no  more ;  but  it  was 
only  after  Richard's  death  that  it  was  discovered  how  they 
had  been  killed. 

It  was  then  reported  that  the  murderers,  finding  them 
asleep  on  their  bed,  clasped  in  eacli  other's  arms  and  with 
their  prayer  book  beside  them,  smothered  them  under  a 
big  feather  bed.  Then  they  took  the  bodies  and  secretly 
buried  them  under  one  of  the  Tower  staircases.  Two 
hundred  years  later,  a  mason,  in  repairing  some  broken 
steps,  found  the  bones  of  two  children,  and  everybody 
now  believes  that  they  were  those  of  the  murdered  princes. 


J  E.  Millait,  Artist. 


The  Princes  in  the  Tower. 


(199) 


200 


LXVI.    RICHARD'S    PUNISHMENT. 

RICHARD  HI.  bestowed  many  gifts  upon  his  accom- 
plice Buckingham,  to  reward  him  for  so  cleverly 
helping  him  to  secure  the  throne.  But  a  man  who  is  not 
faithful  to  one  master  is  likely  to  betray  another;  so  the 
Duke  of  Buckingham,  fancying  that  Richard  did  not  do 
enough  for  him,  soon  began  to  plot  to  give  the  crown  to 
the  Earl  of  Richmond,  Henry  Tu'dor. 

Henry  Tudor  w^as  a  descendant  of  the  third  son  of  Ed- 
ward HI.,  and  also  of  a  Welshman  named  Owen  Tudor. 
Being  thus  the  head  of  the  Lancastrians,  he  made  his  claim 
to  the  throne  stronger  by  promising  to  marry  Princess 
Elizabeth,  the  eldest  daughter  of  Edward  IV.,  and  hence 
the  heiress  of  the  house  of  York. 

Buckingham  proposed  this  marriage  to  Henry,  and  in- 
vited him  to  come  over  to  England  to  claim  the  throne. 
But  when  Buckingham  began  his  rebellion  against  Richard, 
a  terrible  rainstorm  so  terrified  his  adherents  that  they 
deserted,  and  Buckingham  himself  was  betrayed  into  the 
hands  of  King  Richard,  who  had  him  executed  as  a  traitor. 

During  the  next  two  years  Richard  governed  England 
very  wisely ;  but  although  he  w.^as  an  able  king,  he  was  a 
very  unhappy  man.  His  son,  the  only  creature  whom  he 
loved,  fell  sick  and  died,  and  Richard  mourned  him  sorely. 
Besides  that,  Richard  w^as  haunted  by  remorse,  and  in  his 
dreams  he  saw  the  spirits  of  all  his  unhappy  victims. 

Hoping  to  win  the  people's  affection  and  to  have  a  child 
to  iiiherit  his  throne,  Richard  now  thought  of  marrying 
his  own  niece,  the  Princess  Elizabeth.      But  when  he  saw 


20I 


that  every  one  disapproved  of  this  match,  he  gave  it  up. 
The  rumour  of  his  intentions,  however,  reached  Henry  of 
Richmond,  who  came  over  from  Brittany  with  an  army. 
Richard,  who  had  taken  part  in  the  battles  of  Barnet  and 
Tewkesbury,  and  who  was  very  bra\'e,  collected  an  army 
and  went  to  meet  his  rival,  determined  to  conquer  or  die. 

On  the  night  of  the  battle,  it  is  said,  Richard,  asleep  in 
his  tent,  was,  as  usual,  haunted  by  the  ghosts  of  his  victims. 
This  seemed  to  him  a  bad  omen,  and  on  the  next  day,  just 
as  the  battle  of  Bos' worth  was  about  to  begin,  his  com- 
mander in  chief  deserted  him.  Richard  nevertheless 
called  for  his  horse  and  dashed  forw^ard,  hoping  to  meet 
and  slay  his  hated  ri\'al.  But  in  spite  of  all  his  courage, 
he  was  cut  down,  and  fell  head  first,  mortally  wounded, 
into  a  brook.  The  crown,  which  a  moment  before  sparkled 
so  proudly  upon  his  helmet,  rolled  under  a  hawthorn  bush, 
and  was  picked  up  by  Henry's  soldiers,  who  crowned  their 
leader  on  the  battlefield. 

Richard's  body  was  carelessly  thrown  across  a  horse's 
back  and  carried  to  Leicester  (les'ter),  where  it  was  buried. 
But  the  last  of  the  York  kings  was  not  even  to  rest  in 
peace  in  his  grave.  Some  years  later  his  body  was  torn 
out  of  its  stone  tomb,  which  from  that  time  on  served  as 
a  common  watering  trough. 

Richard  HI.,  the  last  of  the  three  York  kings,  was  the 
last  of  the  family  of  the  Plantagenets,  which  ruled  Eng- 
land for  three  hundred  and  thirty  years.  The  battle  of 
Bosworth  (1485)  marks  the  end  of  the  Wars  of  the  Roses, 
and  also  the  end  of  feudalism,  which  had  been  introduced 
into  England  by  William  the  Conqueror,  at  the  battle  of 
Hastings,  four  hundred  and  nineteen  years  before. 


202 


LXVII.    TWO    PRETENDERS. 

HENRY  VII.,  who  was  crowned  King  of  England  on 
Bosworth  battlefield,  was  the  first  of  the  Tudor  kings. 
He  belonged  to  the  house  of  Lancaster;  and  as  he  soon 
married  Princess  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Edward  IV.,  of  the 


Mather  Brown^  Artint, 


Marriage  of  Henry  VII. 


house  of  York,  both  parties  were  well  pleased.  But,  fear- 
ing that  the  Earl  of  Warwick,  Clarence's  son,  might  claim 
the  throne,  Henry  kept  him  a  close  prisoner  in  the  Towner. 
The  new  king  was  rather  afraid  of  the  few  noblemen 
who  had  survived  the  Wars  of  the  Roses,  so  he  tried  to 
restrict  their  power  as  much  as  he  could.  Knowing  very 
well  also  that  he  had  not  the  best  right  to  the  throne,  and 


203 

could  keep  it  only  as  long  as  the  people  wished,  he  allowed 
Parliament  more  freedom  than  it  had  enjoyed  under  the 
preceding  reign. 

Henry  was  very  fond  of  money,  and  as  he  fancied  it 
would  give  him  power,  he  tried  to  get  all  he  could.  With 
this  end  in  view  he  encouraged  commerce,  and  thus  did 
much  good  to  the  whole  country.  His  reign,  however, 
was  disturbed  by  two  plots  formed  to  dri\e  him  from  the 
throne. 

First,  a  priest  named  Simon  trained  a  baker's  son  to 
make  believe  he  was  the  Earl  of  Warwick.  Now  the  Irish 
people  had  been  very  fond  of  Clarence,  so  they  received 
this  lad,  Lambert  Sim'nel,  with  joy,  and  proclaimed  him 
king.  But  when  Henry  heard  that  a  false  Earl  of  Warwick 
was  claiming  the  throne,  he  brought  the  real  one  out  of 
the  Tower  and  showed  him  to  the  people.  In  spite  of 
this,  the  Irish  still  clung  to  Simnel,  and,  collecting  an  army, 
came  over  to  England  to  place  him  on  the  throne. 

Henry  met  and  defeated  the  invaders  at  Stoke.  There 
priest  and  pretender  were  both  made  captives.  They  were 
tried,  and  as  Simon  was  found  guilty  of  fraud,  he  was  sent 
to  prison  for  life.  But,  seeing  that  Simnel  was  not  very 
intelligent,  and  had  been  forced  to  play  his  part,  the  king 
forgave  him  and  made  him  a  servant  in  the  royal  kitchen. 

One  of  Simnel's  stanch  adherents,  Lord  Lov'el,  is  said 
to  have  ridden  away  in  haste  from  the  battlefield.  Noth- 
ing was  heard  of  him  for  a  long  time,  so  it  was  generally 
supposed  that  he  had  been  drowned  in  trying  to  cross  the 
Trent  River.  But  more  than  one  hundred  vears  after  the 
battle,  some  workmen,  pulling  down  one  of  his  massive 
stone   houses,  discovered  there  a  secret  chamber.      In   it 


204 

they  found  the  skeleton  of  a  man  seated  on  a  chair,  his 
head  resting  on  a  table,  and  near  him  stood  an  empty 
barrel  and  jar.  Hence  it  has  been  thought  that  Lord 
Lovel,  having  escaped  pursuit,  hid  himself  in  this  retreat, 
where  he  probably  starved  to  death. 

The  other  plot  which  disturbed  Henry's  reign  proved 
more  serious.  A  rumour  suddenly  arose  that  little  Richard 
of  York  had  not  been  murdered  in  the  Tower,  as  was 
popularly  supposed,  but  that  he  had  escaped  to  France, 
and  was  livins:  there  under  the  name  of  Perkin  War'beck. 

Many  people  believed  this  story  ;  and  when  Perkin  War- 
beck,  who  was  really  the  son  of  a  merchant,  was  brought 
before  the  Duchess  of  Burgundy,  she  declared  he  was  her 
long-lost  nephew,  and  joyfully  prepared  to  help  him  win 
the  crown.  Helped  by  the  Ducliess  of  Burgundy,  the 
King  of  the  Scots,  and  by  several  English  noblemen  who 
thought  he  was  the  real  Duke  of  York,  Perkin  Warbeck 
invaded  England,  but  was  soon  forced  to  retreat. 

His  friends  then  planned  a  second  invasion  from  Ire- 
land ;  but  when  Perkin  landed  in  England,  he  was  taken 
captive  and  put  into  the  Tower,  while  his  wife,  a  beautiful 
Scotch  lady,  became  an  attendant  of  the  queen.  It  is 
likely  that  no  further  steps  would  have  been  taken  against 
Perkin  Warbeck,  had  he  not  made  plans  to  escape  with 
the  Earl  of  Warwick.  But  this  plot  being  discovered, 
both  captives  were  condemned  to  death.  The  Earl  of 
Warwick,  being  a  nobleman,  was  beheaded  on  Tower 
Hill,  but  Perkin  W^arbeck  was  hanged  like  a  common 
criminal  at  Tyburn. 


205 


LXVIII.    A   GRASPING    KING. 

HENRY  VII.,  as  you  have  seen,  was  rather  a  clever 
ruler,  but  he  was  so  fond  of  money  that  he  did  many 
wrong  things  to  secure  it.  For  instance,  he  said  that  when 
people  were  not  satisfied  with  the  decision  of  the  ordinary 
judges,  they  could  come  before  a  special  court,  held  at 
Westminster,  in  a  room  where  the  ceiling  was  painted  blue 
and  decorated  with  gold  stars.  This  tribunal  was  hence 
called  the  Star  Chamber ;  and  as  people  could  sometimes 
bribe  the  judges,  and  thus  get  the  verdict  they  wanted, 
it  came  to  be  regarded  as  a  very  disgraceful  institution. 

Two  lawyers,  Empson  and  Dudley,  helped  the  king  to 
get  a  great  deal  of  money,  and  they  made  use  of  such 
dishonest  means  that  their  names  are  still  used  to  designate 
bad  men.  Thus,  by  heavy  taxes,  and  by  asking  for  gifts 
from  rich  and  poor,  Henry  contrived  to  save  several  mil- 
lions, besides  building  for  his  own  tomb  the  chapel  which 
still  bears  his  name  in  Westminster  Abbey. 

During  his  reign  many  great  discoveries  were  made. 
Christopher  Columbus,  sailing  across  the  Atlantic  Ocean, 
opened  the  way  for  new  and  profitable  trading.  Henry 
VII.,  wishing  to  enrich  himself,  built  a  large  ship,  the 
Great  Harry,  and  he  too  sent  out  expeditions.  One  of 
his  captains  was  Cab'ot,  who  discovered  New'found-land 
and  the  coast  of  the  North  American  continent. 

Henry  VII.  also  tried  to  increase  the  wealth  of  his  family 
by  having  his  eldest  son.  Prince  Arthur,  marry  Catherine 
of  Ar'a-gon,  the  daughter  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  of 
Spain.      But  soon  after  the  marriage  Prince  Arthur  died. 


2o6 


Rather  than  give  up  the  dowry  of  the  princess,  Henry 
VII.  now  engaged  her  to  his  second  son,  Henry,  although 
the  latter  was  several  years  younger  than  his  future  wife. 

Before  dying,  this  money-saving  king  bargained  that 
two  thousand  masses  should  be  said  for  the  rest  of  his  sou], 
but  should  cost  only  sixpence  apiece.  Henry  VII.  was 
buried  in  Westminster  Abbey,  and  his  tomb  is  an  exam- 
ple of  a  new  style  of  building,  first  seen  in  his  reign,  and 
generally  called  the  Tudor  architecture. 

Henry  VII.  was  so  severe,  miserly,  and  unjust  that  his 
subjects  gladly  welcomed  his  successor,  Henry  VIII.  The 
new  king  was  eighteen,  and  as  he  was  handsome,  affable, 
.  well  educated,  and  clever,  many  fancied  he  would  make  a 
very  good  ruler.  But,  as  you  will  soon  see,  Henry  was 
x'iolent-tempered,  wilful,  conceited,  and  so  fond  of  display 
that  he  soon  spent  all  the  money  his  father  had  saved. 

In  the  very  beginning  of  his  reign  he  had  his  father's 
two  wicked  lawyers  tried  and  sentenced  to  death,  to  show 
the  people  that  he  did  not  approve  of  their  conduct.  Then 
he  pleased  the  people  by  marrying  Catherine  of  Aragon, 
to  whom  he  had  been  betrothed,  by  giving  magnificent 
coronation  festivals,  and  by  holding  gay  tournaments  in 
which  he  delighted  in  taking  part  himself. 

He  was  so  anxious  to  show  what  a  great  warrior  he  was, 
that  although  England  was  then  at  peace  with  France  and 
Scotland,  he  stirred  up  war  with  them  both.  Then,  cross- 
ing over  to  France,  he  easily  routed  the  French  at  Guine- 
gate  (geen-gaht'),  for  their  cavalry  fled  at  the  approach 
of  the  English.  Because  the  enemy  made  more  use  of 
their  spurs  than  of  their  swords,  tliis  encounter  is  known 
in  history  as  the  "  Battle  of  the  Spurs." 


207 

While  Henry  was  winning  this  mock  battle  in  France, 
his  general,  Lord  Surrey,  \Non  a  grand  \ictory  over  the 
Scotch  at  Flod'den  Field,  w^here  the  beloved  Scotch  king 
James  IV.  fell,  with  ten  thousand  of  his  brave  subjects. 

These  two  battles  ended  the  w^ar,  and  peace  was  made 
with  France,  the  king  giving  his  own  sister  in  marriage  to 
the  French  monarch.  But  Louis  XIL  of  France  died  soon 
after  this  wedding,  so  his  widow^  w^as  married  to  one  of 
the  king's  friends. 


-0-0>e^00- 


LXIX.    THE   FIELD   OF  THE   CLOTH   OF   GOLD. 

HENRY  VHL  was  only  twenty-four  when  the  French 
king  died,  leaving  his  throne  to  his  nearest  male  rela- 
tive, Francis  L  At  that  time  Spain  and  Holland  were  both 
ruled  by  Charles  V.  ;  and  as  he  too  was  young  and  clever, 
like  the  kings  of  England  and  France,  there  was  great 
rivalry  among  the  three  rulers.  When  the  Emperor  of 
Germany  died,  the  crown,  being  elective,  was  sought  for 
by  Henry,  Francis,  and  Charles. 

When  the  French  king  heard  that  Charles  w^as  elected, 
he  felt  angry  and  afraid,  because  his  hated  rival  now^  oc- 
cupied the  land  all  around  him.  He  therefore  thought  it 
would  be  a  very  good  plan  to  make  a  friend  of  Henry, 
who  could  help  him  in  case  of  war  w4th  Charles.  So 
Francis  invited  Henry  to  come  over  to  France  and  meet 
him  near  Calais,  where  thev  could  enjov  a  talk  and  indulo^e 
in  games  of  skill,  of  which  they  were  equally  fond. 

Henry  gladly  accepted  this  invitation,  and  got  ready  to 
go  to  France.      But  Charles,  hearing  of  this  plan,  secretly 


208 


crossed  over  to  England,  so  as  to  see  Henry  first.  His 
aim  was  to  make  himself  so  agreeable  that  Henry  would 
not  care  to  become  the  French  king's  ally.  Charles  won 
Henry's  favour  by  calling  him  uncle,  and  secretly  prom- 
ised the  king's  minister,  Wolsey  {wobVzi),  to  help  him  be- 
come pope  as  soon  as  the  present  pope  died. 

Now  you  must  know  that  Wolsey  was  a  very  ambitious 
man.  Although  only  the  son  of  a  poor  butcher,  he  had 
worked  very  hard  to  get  a  college  education.  Next  he 
became  a  priest,  and  was  so  clever  that  Henry  VH.  en- 
gaged him  as  tutor  for  his  children. 

Little  bv  little  Wolsev  won  the  kind's  confidence  ;  and 
as  he  always  did  what  he  was  told,  and  did  it  well  and 
promptly,  he  soon  rose  in  rank.  Henry  VHI.  found  him 
very  useful,  and  as  Wolsey  flattered  the  young  king,  the 
latter  liked  him  and  made  him  Chancellor  of  State.  Proud 
and  even  stern  with  every  one  else,  Wolsey  was  always 
gentle  and  humble  with  the  king,  in  whose  name  he  really 
governed,  although  he  pretended  to  be  only  a  servant. 

Henry  was  so  generous  that  he  is  said  to  have  given 
large  estates  to  a  lady  who  made  him  a  good  pudding,  and 
to  a  gentleman  who  pushed  his  chair  away  from  a  too  hot 
fire.  You  can  understand  from  that  how  richly  he  would 
reward  such  a  man  as  Wolsey,  who  soon  lived  almost  as 
magnificently  as  the  king,  and  owned  the  two  palaces  of 
Whitehall  and  Hampton  Court. 

Besides  being  chancellor,  \\'olsey  was  Archbishop  of 
York  and  cardinal,  and  when  the  emperor  promised  to  help 
him  become  pope  in  due  time,  he  was  greatly  pleased.  The 
visit  over,  Charles  went  home,  while  Henry  and  all  his  court 
went  to  France  to  see  Francis  I. 


Sir  John  Gilbert,  Arti&t. 


Henry  VIII.  and  Cardinal  Wolsey. 


(209) 


2IO 


Great  preparations  had  been  made  near  Calais  for  the 
reception  of  both  courts.  We  are  told  that  the  camp  was 
composed  of  nearly  three  thousand  tents  of  silk  and  bro- 
cade, all  decked  with  gorgeous  banners.  Both  kings  were 
fond  of  display,  so  there  was  seen  a  rare  array  of  jewels, 
clothes,  armour,  horses,  etc.  In  fact,  there  was  such  a 
glitter  that  the  place  was  called  the  Field  of  the  Cloth  of 
Gold,  and  shows  and  diversions  of  all  kinds  were  the  order 
of  the  day.  But  while  the  kings  and  queens  exchanged 
visits  and  viewed  the  gay  tournaments,  their  ministers  dis- 
cussed matters  of  state.  Every  day  the  round  of  gaiety 
was  more  splendid  than  before. 

Weary  of  the  constant  ceremonial,  King  Francis  rode  into 
the  English  camp  alone  one  morning,  and,  entering  Henry's 
tent,  roused  him  from  his  morning  slumbers  by  playfully 
crying,  "You  are  my  prisoner ;  behold  your  chains!"  In 
saying  these  words,  Francis  took  oflf  his  beautiful  golden 
chain  and  put  it  around  Henry's  neck. 

The  English  king  then  returned  the  compliment  by 
giving  Francis  a  costly  bracelet ;  and  when  Henry  rose, 
the  French  king  helped  him  dress.  The  ice  being  thus 
broken,  the  kings  freely  rode  in  and  out  of  each  other's 
camp,  and  we  are  told  they  once  enjoyed  a  wrestling  bout 
together.  But  Henry's  vanity  was  sorely  tried  when 
Francis  threw  him,  and  he  did  not  feel  comfortable  until 
he  had  outshone  his  rival  in  archery. 

When  the  gay  doings  on  the  Field  of  the  Cloth  of  Gold 
ended,  the  kings  parted  and  went  home,  without  any  de- 
cided alliance  having  been  made.  But  shortly  after  this, 
Henry  had  a  second  interview  with  Charles,  and  became 
his  ally. 


21  i 


LXX.    THE    NEW    OPE\IONS. 

IN  those  days  all  iLurope  was  in  a  state  of  excitement. 
The  Reformation,  begun  so  long  before  by  Wyclif,  had 
been  steadily  gaining  ground  ;  and  although  VVyclif's  dis- 
ciples, the  Lollards,  were  sorely  persecuted,  their  teachings 
had  won  converts  in  many  parts  of  Europe. 

Besides,  the  discovery  of  printing  had  brought  into 
common  use  many  books  which  had  hitherto  been  in  the 
hands  of  only  a  few  learned  men.  The  result  was  that 
people  began  to  read  more,  and  to  form  different  opinions 
on  all  matters,  especially  on  religion.  These  differences  led 
sometimes  to  very  serious  disputes. 

There  was  a  man  in  Germany,  Martin  Luther,  who  had 
once  been  a  monk,  but  who  was  now  an  ardent  reformer; 
that  is,  he  disagreed  w^ith  the  teachings  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church,  and  wrote  in  defence  of  his  opinions. 

This  bold  preaching  by  Martin  Luther  made  a  great  stir 
in  Germany,  and  while  some  of  his  hearers  agreed  with 
him,  others  thought  he  ought  to  be  burned  as  a  heretic, 
or  man  with  wrong  opinions.  Among  those  who  did  not 
approve  of  Luther  was  Henry  VHI.  of  England,  who, 
after  reading  the  reformer's  book,  wrote  a  treatise  to  show 
that  he  was  wrong. 

Priding  himself  upon  his  cleverness,  Henry  sent  a  copy 
of  his  work  to  the  pope,  who  was  so  pleased  with  it  that 
he  bestowed  upon  the  English  monarch  the  name  of 
"Defender  of  the  Faith."  This  title  is  still  borne  by 
British  sovereigns,  and  you  can  see  it  stamped  on  English 
coins  to-day. 

STO.   OF    ENG.  —  14 


212 


But  although  Henry  thought  it  so  very  wicked  of 
Luther  not  to  obey  the  pope,  you  will  soon  see  that  he 
did  not  always  do  so  himself.  Henry  had,  as  you  remem- 
ber, married  his  brother's  widow,  Catherine  of  Aragon. 
They  had  many  children,  but  all  died  in  infancy,  except  a 
sickly  little  girl  named  Mary. 

As  no  woman  had  ever  yet  really  reigned  in  England, 
Henry  was  afraid  that  if  he  died  the  crown  would  pass 
out  of  his  family.  He  longed  to  have  a  son,  was  tired  of 
Catherine,  now  that  she  was  old,  and  wished  he  could 
marry  one  of  her  pretty  waiting  women,  Anne  Boleyn 
(bdbrin),  with  whom  he  had  fallen  in  love. 

To  get  rid  of  Catherine,  Henry  first  said  he  was  sure 
God  was  displeased  with  him,  because  all  his  baby  boys 
had  died.  Next  he  said  that  God  must  be  angry  because 
he  had  married  his  brother's  widow,  a  marriage  which  the 
Catholic  Church  seldom  allows. 

When  he  had  thus  paved  the  way,  Henry  bade  Wolsey 
send  to  Rome  and  ask  the  pope  for  a  divorce.  Wolsey 
obeyed,  but  although  he  tried  very  hard,  he  could  not  get 
the  divorce.  The  fact  was  that  the  pope  did  not  know 
what  to  do.  He  knew  that  the  reformers  were  growing 
in  numbers,  and  feared  that  if  he  refused,  Henry  VHI. 
would  join  their  ranks.  But  if  he  granted  the  divorce 
he  knew  it  would  ofTend  Queen  Catherine's  nephew,  the 
Emperor  Charles,  who  was  master  of  all  Italy,  and  who 
kept  the  pope  almost  a  prisoner  in  Rome. 

In  spite  of  all  Henry's  urgings,  therefore,  the  pope 
would  not  give  a  decided  answer;  but  after  a  year  of 
wavering,  he  sent  his  legate  to  talk  over  the  matter  with 
Wolsey.      Now  there  was  more  delay,  for  the  legate  tried 


T.  Stothard,  Artist. 


Henry  VIII.  and  Anne  Boleyn. 


(213) 


214 

to  make  Henry  give  up  the  divorce,  while  Wolsey  tried  to 
persuade  Queen  Catherine  to  withdraw  into  a  nunnery. 
Neither  would  consent,  and  the  king,  angry  at  these  delays, 
began  to  hate  his  former  friend  Wolsey.  One  day  he 
asked  the  chancellor  for  the  state  accounts.  By  mistake, 
Wolsey  brought  the  king  his  own  private  account  book. 
Henry  opened  it,  and,  finding  that  the  chancellor  was  far 
richer  than  he  had  ever  supposed,  grew  jealous  of  his  sub- 
ject's wealth,  and  made  up  his  mind  to  take  back  his  pres- 
ents. Wolsey  was  therefore  forced  to  give  up  his  two 
palaces,  which  became  the  property  of  the  king,  and  to  go 
and  live  at  York. 


LXXI.    DEATH    OF   WOLSEY. 

A  LTHOUGH  sent  away  from  court  in  disgrace,  Wolsey 
J~\  led  so  gay  a  life  at  York,  and  made  such  a  display, 
that  he  won  many  admirers.  This  made  Henry  more 
jealous  than  ever,  and  as  he  needed  more  money,  he  sud- 
denly sent  officers  to  arrest  his  former  favourite  and  bring 
him  to  the  Tower. 

This  arrest  broke  Wolsey 's  heart,  and  as  they  journeyed 
on  to  London  he  became  so  ill  that  they  had  to  stop  at 
Leicester  Abbey  and  lift  him  off  his  mule.  Wolsey  was 
by  this  time  so  feeble  that  he  said  to  the  abbot  who  came 
to  greet  him  :  "  My  father,  I  am  come  to  lay  my  bones 
among  you." 

He  was  right;  for,  instead  of  getting  better,  he  steadily 
sank,  and  died  a  few  days  later.  His  last  words  were : 
"  Had  I  only  served  my  God  as  diligently  as  I  have  served 


215 

my  king,  he  would  not  have  left  me  alone  in  my  gray 
hairs."  You  see,  at  the  very  end,  Wolsey  regretted  that 
he  had  not  always  done  what  was  right,  regardless  of  the 
wishes  of  an  ungrateful  king. 

All  Wolsey 's  treasures  fell,  at  his  death,  into  the  hands 
of  the  king,  and  the  beautiful  jewels  he  had  collected  be- 
came the  ornaments  of  Anne  Boleyn,  who  w^as  the  real 
cause  of  his  sudden  downfall. 

In  the  meantime  the  king,  who  had  not  given  up  the 
idea  of  divorcing  Catherine,  overheard  two  of  his  officers 
discussing  the  matter  with  a  clever  young  Oxford  doctor 
named  Thomas  Cran'mer.  This  young  man,  who  belonged 
to  the  Oxford  reformers,  frankly  said  that  if  he  were  in 
the  king's  place  he  would  not  wait  for  the  pope's  decision, 
but  would  ask  the  universities  what  they  thought  aibout  it. 

The  eavesdropping  king  was  so  delighted  with  this  sug- 
gestion that  he  hired  Cranmer  to  write  a  book  in  favour  of 
the  divorce,  gave  him  more  and  more  of  his  confidence, 
and  finally  made  him  Archbishop  of  Canterbury.  As  soon 
as  he  became  Primate  of  England,  Cranmer  declared  that 
the  king's  marriage  was  against  the  law,  that  he  had  the 
right  to  take  another  wife,  and  that  Princess  Mary  had  no 
claim  to  the  crown. 

A  few  days  after  this,  Henry,  who  had  made  a  great 
pretence  of  being  very  sorry  to  part  with  Catherine, 
had  Anne  Boleyn  crowned  as  his  queen.  But  when  the 
news  of  his  divorce  reached  Rome  the  pope  was  very  angry. 
He  said  that  Cranmer  had  no  right  to  decide  the  question, 
and  that  Catherine  was  still  Henry's  wife. 

The  pope's  refusal  to  agree  to  the  divorce  made  Henry  so 
furious  that  he  now  called  Parliament  together,  and  made 


2l6 


it  declare  that  he  was  head  of  the  church  within  his 
kingdom,  as  well  as  head  of  the  kingdom  itself.  Henry 
also  asked  all  his  subjects  to  sign  a  paper  to  this  effect,  or 
take  the  oath  of  supremacy,  as  it  was  called. 

Now,  good  Roman  Catholics  consider  the  pope  head  of 
the  church,  so  some  of  them  refused  to  sign  the  paper  or 
take  the  oath.  Among  these  were  two  great  and  good 
men,  Fisher,  the  Bishop  of  Roch'es-ter,  and  Sir  Thomas 
More,  who  had  been  named  chancellor  after  Wolsey. 

Besides  being  a  good  and  noble  man,  Sir  Thomas  More 
was  a  man  of  genius.      He  had  read  the  letters  of  A-mer'- 


./.  R.  Herbert,  Artist 


Sir  Thomas  More  in  Prison. 


i-cus  Ves-pu'cius  as  soon  as  they  were  printed,  and  had 
put  his  ideas  about  politics  into  a  little  story.  In  this 
book,  he  said  that  one  of  the  companions  of  Vespucius  had 


217 

gone  to  the  New  World,  where  he  had  founded  an  ideal 
state  called  *'  U-to'pi-a  "  (Nowhere).  Here  all  the  people 
were  equal,  all  were  well  educated,  all  were  happy  and 
healthy  and  good,  and  all  had  the  right  to  worship  God  as 
they  pleased. 

The  people  of  his  time  thought  this  story  so  absurd  that 
Utopia  was  used  —  and  is  still  —  as  we  now  use  the  word 
**  fairyland."  But  since  then  a  republic  has  been  founded 
in  the  New  World,  where,  as  you  know,  people  have  the 
right  to  practise  any  religion  they  please,  and  we  hope 
that  some  day  it  may  become  a  real  Utopia. 

As  Sir  Thomas  More  and  Fisher  would  not  say  that 
they  accepted  Henry  as  the  head  of  the  church,  they  were 
accused  of  treason,  locked  up  in  the  Tower,  tried,  con- 
victed, and  sentenced  to  death.  More  was  allowed  a  last 
parting  with  his  favourite  child,  Margaret,  who,  after  he 
had  suflfered  death  with  great  courage,  bore  away  his  re- 
mains to  bury  them. 


o-o^^OO 

LXXH.    HENRY'S    WIVES. 

ALTHOUGH  Henry  had  won  his  new  wife  with  so  much 
j\  trouble,  he  was  not  long  pleased  with  her.  She  was 
very  beautiful,  but  two  years  after  their  marriage,  and 
some  time  after  the  birth  of  her  daughter  Elizabeth,  she 
was  accused  of  a  crime  and  sent  to  the  Tower.  Some  writ- 
ers say  that  Anne  Boleyn  was  quite  innocent,  but  that  the 
king  was  tired  of  her  and  wished  to  marry  another  wife. 
Others  insist  that  she  was  guilty,  and  deserved  the  death 
to  which  she  was  soon  condemned. 


2l8 


However  that  may  be,  the  fact  remains  that  Anne  Boleyn 
was  led  off  to  the  block.  She  never  complained  about  the 
king's  cruelty,  but  merely  said,  with  a  sad  smile,  that  she 
would  soon  be  out  of  pain,  for  she  had  a  very  small  neck. 
As  soon  as  Anne  had  been  beheaded.  Parliament  decreed 
that  her  daughter  Elizabeth  should  not  reign,  just  as  it 
had  already  decreed  with  regard  to  Mary. 

The  very  day  after  Anne  Boleyn's  death,  the  unfeeling 
king  married  a  beautiful  Englisli  girl,  Jane  Seymour  (see'- 
moor).  The  new  queen  was  gentle  and  good,  and,  happily 
for  her,  died  before  her  fickle  husband  could  get  tired  of 
her  too.  She  left  a  little  son  named  Edward,  and  the 
people  were  so  glad  to  hear  there  was  a  male  heir  at  last, 
that  they  celebrated  his  birthday  with  great  rejoicings. 

Ever  since  Wolsey's  fall  from  power,  the  king  had  been 
helped  by  a  man  named  Crom'well,  who  now  held  high 
office.  Seeing  that  Henry  was  anxious  to  marry  again, 
Cromwell  suggested  that  he  should  choose  some  princess. 

But  none  of  the  European  princesses  wanted  to  marry 
a  king  who  had  already  had  three  wives,  one  of  whom  had 
been  beheaded  and  another  divorced.  Indeed,  one  of  the 
ladies  who  was  asked  to  share  his  throne,  refused,  saying, 
"  I  have  but  one  head ;  if  I  had  two,  one  would  be  at  his 
majesty's  disposal." 

As  Cromwell  was  a  reformer,  he  wished  his  master  to 
marry  a  Protestant,  and  showed  him  the  portrait  of  Anne 
of  Cleves.  Henry  was  so  pleased  with  the  lady's  appearance 
that  he  sent  for  her  to  come  and  marry  him.  But  when 
he  saw  her,  and  found  out  that  her  portrait  had  flattered 
her,  he  was  very  angry,  and  was  rude  enough  to  mutter, 
"  I  don't  want  to  marry  that  Flanders  mare!" 


219 

To  avoid  quarrelling"  with  the  lady's  relatives,  however, 
he  did  marry  her;  but  as  she  Was  stupid,  and  could  speak 
only  Dutch,  lie  soon  decided  to  divorce  her.  F'irst,  he 
vented  his  displeasure  by  beheading"  Cromwell.  Then  he 
had  Parliament  declare  his  divorce  from  Anne  of  Cleves, 
who  received  a  palace  and  a  handsome  income,  and  lived 
very  comfortably  all  by  herself. 

A  fortnight  later  Henry  VIII.  married  a  fifth  wife, 
Catherine  Howard.  But  when  he  discovered  that  she  was 
a  wicked  woman,  he  promptly  had  her  beheaded,  and 
married  Catherine  Parr,  a  widow,  who  had  the  good  for- 
tune to  survive  him. 

Ever  since  Henry  had  been  named  head  of  the  church 
he  thought  that  he  knew  all  there  was  to  know  about 
religion.  Whenever  he  argued  about  it,  he  was  very  angry 
if  any  one  disagreed  with  him.  He  was  so  self-willed  that 
if  people  had  different  opinions  from  his  they  were  perse- 
cuted. Roman  Catholics  were  put  to  death  for  considering 
the  pope  head  of  the  church,  and  Protestants  were  treated 
in  the  same  way  if  they  did  not  accept  certain  Catholic 
doctrines  which  Henry  still  believed. 

During  his  long  reign  Henry's  opinions  underwent  sun- 
dry changes.  For  instance,  he  first  ordered  that  an  Eng- 
lish Bible  should  be  placed  in  every  church,  where  people 
could  come  and  read  it  for  themselves  if  they  chose.  But 
when  he  found  out  that  those  who  read  the  Bible  often 
formed  opinions  different  from  his  own,  he  decided  that 
the  books  should  be  removed,  and  that  none  but  learned 
men  should  have  the  right  to  see  them.. 

Besides  squandering  his  father's  savings  and  Wolsey's 
property,  Henry  spent  all  the  money  he  received  as  head 


220 


of  the  church.  He  also  sent  men  to  examine  all  the 
churches  and  religious  houses,  and  closed  many  of  the 
latter,  because,  he  said,  the  monks  had  grown  rich  and  lazy 
and  were  not  doing  the  good'  work  they  should  among 
the  poor.  The  only  person  who  never  felt  Henry's  anger 
was  Cranmer,  who,  however,  often  disagreed  with  him. 
But  Cranmer  generally  did  as  the  king  wished  him  to,  and 
some  say  that  whenever  Henry  wanted  to  do  anything 
specially  wrong  he  sent  the  archbishop  away  for  a  time, 
so  that  he  should  not  try  to  oppose  it. 

It  was  owing  to  Cranmer  that  English  came  to  be  used 
in  the  services  of  the  church.  This  marked  him  as  a 
leader  among  those  who  favoured  Protestant  ideas.  Both 
Cranmer  and  Wolse}^  were,  like  Henry,  very  fond  of  books, 
and  encouraged  learning  as  much  as  possible. 

— OO^^CX^ 


LXXni.    THE    KING   AND    THE    PAINTER. 

HENRY  VIII.  was  so  fond  of  interviews  that  he  once 
arranged  one  with  James  V.  of  Scotland.  But  either 
the  Scots  were  afraid  their  king  would  be  made  a  prisoner, 
or  the  Scotch  king  wished  to  please  the  Catholics.  Any- 
way, Henry  vainly  waited  for  his  fellow-monarch,  and 
when  he  saw  that  James  was  not  coming,  he  declared 
war  against  Scotland. 

The  troops  of  James  V.  were  defeated  at  Solway  Moss, 
and  he  felt  so  badly  over  the  loss  of  his  followers  that  he 
soon  after  died  of  grief,  leaving  the  crown  to  his  little 
daughter  Mary,  who  became  Queen  of  Scotland.      Henry 


221 


now  proposed  a  marriage  between  this  queen  and  his  son 
Edward,  which  would  unite  the  Scotch  and  Enghsh  crowns. 
The  nobles  at  first  consented  to  it,  but  it  never  took  place. 

Besides  the  French  war  mentioned  in  the  beginning  of 
Henry's  reign,  there  was  a  second,  in  which  the  English 
won  Boulogne  (boo-lon^),  which,  however,  they  promised 
to  give  back  to  France  at  the  end  of  seven  years. 

As  Henry  waxed  older  he  grew  very  stout,  suffered  a 
great  deal  from  illness,  and  became  so  violent  in  temper 
that  every  one  was  afraid  of  him.  We  are  told  that  even 
Parliament  dared  not  disobey  him,  for  he  once  said  to 
one  of  the  members :  "  Get  my  bill  passed  to-morrow, 
or  else  to-morrow  this  head  of  yours  shall  be  off." 

The  queen  once  incurred  his  wrath  simply  because  she 
differed  from  him  in  a  religious  argument.  But  when  she 
found  out  that  the  king  was  going  to  have  her  tried  for 
heresy,  she  disarmed  his  anger  by  saying  that  she  loved 
to  hear  him  argue  because  he  was  so  clever. 

Henry  not  only  encouraged  learning,  but  he  was  also 
very  fond  of  painting,  and  engaged  the  German  artist  Hol'- 
bein  to  paint  his  portrait.  He  had  great  respect  for  men 
of  talent,  and  when  a  courtier  once  complained  that  Holbein 
had  insulted  him  by  sending  him  out  of  the  studio,  into 
which  he  had  forced  his  way,  the  king  answered : 

"  It  is  I,  in  the  person  of  Holbein,  who  have  been  in- 
sulted. I  can,  when  I  please,  make  seven  lords  of  seven 
ploughmen ;  but  I  cannot  make  one  Holbein  even  of  seven 
lords." 

Besides  learning,  Henry  also  encouraged  commerce, 
which,  under  him,  became  very  flourishing.  But  there  was 
a  new  kind  of  trade  begun  in  his  reign  which  was  not  to 


^    or  f  »^ 


TTl^lVEBSi 


222 


his  credit.  This  was  slave  trading,  and  it  was  many  years 
before  that  wicked  traffic  came  to  an  end. 

Henry  reigned  thirty-eight  years,  and  when  his  people 
saw  that  he  was  dying,  they  did  not  dare  tell  him  so,  lest 
they  should  be  accused  of  high  treason  and  put  to  death. 
Finally,  however,  a  very  old  man  plucked  up  courage 
enough  to  inform  the  king  that  he  was  nearing  his  end. 

Instead  of  flying  into  a  rage  as  every  one  expected, 
Henry  took  the  news  very  calmly.  He  said  that  his  son 
Edward  should  succeed  him,  and  as  the  lad  was  delicate, 
he  arranged  that  if  the  prince  died  without  leaving  any 
children,  the  crown  should  go  to  Mary,  and  after  her  to 
Elizabeth,  and  after  them  to  his  youngest  sister,  the 
Duchess  of  Suffolk.  When  all  his  arrangements  had  been 
made,  Henry  died ;  and  all  breathed  a  sigh  of  relief  at  tlie 
thought  that  the  tyrannical  ruler  could  frighten  them  no 
more. 


LXXIV.    A    BOY    KING. 

EDWARD  VI.  was  only  nine  years  old  when  he  was 
crowned  King  of  England.  His  father,  Henry  VIII., 
had  decided  that  until  he  was  old  enough  to  reign  alone, 
the  government  should  be  in  the  hands  of  Cranmer  and  a 
council.  But  as  soon  as  the  king  was  dead,  the  Duke 
of  Somerset  was  named  Protector  of  England. 

The  little  king  was  a  gentle,  lovable,  and  studious  child. 
He  had  been  brought  up  in  the  new  religious  ideas,  and 
liked  nothing  better  than  to  study  theology  or  to  listen 
to  long  sermons.      As  he  was  very  delicate  and  needed  a 


v) 


great  deal  of  fresh  air,  his  favourite  preacher,  the  reformer 
Lat'i-mer,  had  a  pulpit  placed  out  in  the  garden  under  a 
tree,  so  that  Edward  could  enjoy  sermons  out  of  doors. 

All  the  little  king's  teachers  were  Protestants,  and  they 
said  he  was  a  remarkably  studious  lad.  They  must  have 
been  riiiht ;  for  some  of  his  Latin  exercises  have  been 
kept,  and  they  are  unusually  good  for  a  boy  of  his  age. 

Although  Cranmer  was  not  allowed  to  govern,  he  was 
given  authority  to  make  any  changes  he  thought  desirable 
in  the  religion  of  the  country.  He  therefore,  in  accord- 
ance with  his  Protestant  ideas,  stopped  all  Latin  services, 
and  arranged  a  Book  of  Common  Pra\er,  almost  the  same 
as  that  still  in  use  to-day  in  the  Church  of  England  and 
in  the  Episcopal  Church  in  America. 

Although  the  king  was  so  kind  that  he  hated  to  pain 
any  one,  and  shed  tears  whenever  he  was  forced  to  sign  a 
death-warrant,  he  became  very  angry  with  his  sister  Mary, 
because  she  would  not  change  her  religion.  He  forbade 
her  to  hear  mass  in  public.  But  in  spite  of  all  he  said, 
Mary  continued  firm  and  would  never  consent  to  listen  to 
anv  of  his  favourite  sermons. 

While  King  Edward  VL  w^as  busy  with  his  books  and 
studies,  the  Duke  of  Somerset  governed  the  kingdom ; 
and  as  he  was  a  zealous  Protestant,  he  took  the  pictures 
and  statues  out  of  the  churches,  closed  up  many  monas- 
teries and  convents,  and  told  tlie  monks  and  nuns  to  go 
out  into  the  world  and  earn  their  living.  The  money  he 
took  from  the  religious  houses  was  used  to  found  schools 
and  hospitals,  or  given  to  new  lords. 

Most  of  the  monks  and  nuns  had  been  so  good  to  the 
poor  people  near  them,  that  the  latter   grumbled    sorely 


224 

when  thev  saw  these  holv  men  and  women  in  need.  Twice 
during  Edward's  short  reign  the  peasants  revolted,  and 
twice  they  had  to  be  put  down  by  force. 

But  in  spite  of  this  resistance,  the  Protestant  movement 
went  on;  and  while  under  Henry  VIII.  the  people  had 
practised  the  Catholic  religion,  without  a  pope,  they  now 
had  a  distinctly  Protestant  form  of  worship.  All  had  to 
worship  as  the  king  wished,  or  suffer  punishment.  Two 
important  persons  refused  to  obey  ;  but  while  one  of  them, 
Bishop  Gardiner  (gard'ner),  was  imprisoned,  the  other,  the 
king's  sister,  was  allowed  to  hear  mass  in  her  own  room. 

The  Duke  of  Somerset  soon  thought  it  time  that  the 
marriage  between  the  young  king  and  Mary,  Queen  of 
Scots,  should  take  place.  But  as  most  of  the  Scotch  were 
still  good  Catholics,  they  did  not  want  their  sovereign  to 
marry  a  Protestant.  Somerset  decided  to  force  them  to 
obey ;  and,  using  the  pretext  that  some  of  the  border  men 
had  fought  against  the  English,  he  invaded  Scotland. 

The  English  army  marched  almost  to  Edinburgh  (ed'in- 
bur-ro),  where  it  met  a  very  large  Scotch  force.  Somer- 
set, frightened,  offered  peace ;  but  the  Scotchmen  felt  so 
sure  of  victory  that  they  would  not  accept  it.  To  their  sur- 
prise, they  were  completely  beaten,  at  Pinkie,  and  lost  ten 
thousand  men,  while  the  English  lost  only  three  hundred. 

Among  the  prisoners  taken  during  the  fight  was  a  Scotch 
nobleman.  Somerset  asked  him  why  he  objected  to  the 
match  between  the  English  king  and  the  Scotch  queen, 
and  he  answered  quickly:  "  I  dislike  not  the  match,  but  I 
hate  the  manner  of  the  wooing." 

Trouble  having  arisen  in  England,  Somerset  made  peace 
with   Scotland.      But  the   little   queen   was  sent  over  to 


225 

France,  so  as  to  be  out  of  reach  of  the  EngHsh,  and  to  be 
brought  up  in  a  Roman  CathoHc  country.  In  time  she 
became  Queen  of  France,  for  she  married  Francis  II. 

On  coming  back  to  England,  Somerset  discovered  that 
his  own  brother  had  been  plotting  against  him.  Influenced 
by  the  bad  advice  of  a  son  of  the  lawyer  Dudley  (wdio 
before  long  was  made  Duke  of  Nor-thum'ber-land),  Som- 
erset accused  his  brother  of  treason,  and  had  him  arrested, 
tried,  condemned,  and  executed.  Soon  after  this,  Nor- 
thumberland, taking  advantage  of  the  discontent  among 
the  poor,  who  were  grumbling  because  the  protector  was 
building  a  new  palace,  accused  Somerset  of  high  treason. 
It  was  he  who  was  now^  arrested,  tried,  sentenced,  and 
executed,  just  as  his  brother  had  been. 

Edward  was  only  thirteen  at  the  time,  so  the  powder 
was  placed  in  the  hands  of  Northumberland.  The  latter 
soon  noticed  that  the  king  would  probably  not  live  long, 
and  he  became  anxious  that  the  crown  should  pass  into 
his  own  family.  With  this  purpose  in  view^,  he  told  the 
little  king  that  he  ought  to  make  a  will. 

You  know  that  Parliament  had  decreed,  during  the 
reign  of  Henry,  that  neither  Mary  nor  Elizabeth  should 
reien  ;  but  later  on  the  same  bodv  had  said  that  Henry 
could  leave  the  throne  to  any  one  he  wished.  Henry 
had  therefore  said  that  the  crown  should  pass  in  turn  to 
Edward,  Mary,  Elizabeth,  and  then  to  the  Sufifolks  if  all 
his  children  died  childless.  To  induce  Edward  to  make 
a  will,  Northumberland  said  that  if  Mary  became  queen 
the  Catholic  religion  would  again  be  introduced.  He  added 
that  if  Mary  w^ere  set  aside  Elizabeth  must  be  also, 
although   she   was   a  Protestant,  and   coaxed   Edward   to 


226 


make  a  will  in  favour  of  Lady  Jane  Grey,  one  of  the  Suf- 
folks,  who  had  married  Northumberland's  son  Dudley. 

Edward  VI.,  who  was  failing  fast,  yielded  to  these  en- 
treaties, and  made  a  will  which  was  witnessed  by  Cranmer. 
Shortly  after  that,  the  doctors  having  vainly  tried  to  cure 
him,  Northumberland  placed  him  under  the  care  of  an 
ignorant  old  woman,  who  vowed  she  could  make  him  well. 
But  instead  of  gaining  strength,  Edward  soon  died,  pray- 
ing that  the  reformed  religion  might  continue  in  England. 
Some  people  believe  that  he  was  the  victim  of  consump- 
tion ;  but  others,  who  hated  Northumberland,  began  to 
whisper  that  the  latter  had  poisoned  the  prince,  so  that 
Dudley  might  reign. 


-oo>Q^o<>- 


LXXV.    THE    STORY    OF    LADY   JANE    GREY. 

WHEN  Edward  VL  breathed  his  last,  Northumber- 
land tried  to  keep  his  death  a  secret  until  he  could 
get  possession  of  Mary  and  Elizabeth.  He  wanted  to  put 
them  in  prison,  to  prevent  their  opposing  the  coronation 
of  his  daughter-in-law,  Lady  Jane  Grey.  But  the  news 
reached  Mary  while  she  was  on  her  way  to  visit  her  sick 
brother.  She  took  refuge  in  a  castle  near  the  seashore,  and 
merely  sent  an  order  to  Parliament  to  proclaim  her  queen. 
Northumberland,  seeing  he  could  not  get  the  princesses 
into  his  power,  now  went  to  Lady  Jane  Grey  with  several 
members  of  the  council,  and  did  homage  to  her  as  queen. 
Lady  Jane  Grey,  who  was  a  most  charming  young  lady  of 
sixteen,  was  greatly  surprised  when  she  heard  what  he 
had  to  tell  her,  and  gently  answered  that  the  crown  ought 


22^ 


to  go  to  her  cousin  Mary,  to  Elizabeth,  or  even  to  Mary, 
Oiieen  of  Scots,  before  it  could  be  hers.  But  her  father- 
in-law  insisted  that  she  must  be  queen  ;  and  as  young  peo- 
ple in  those  days  were  taught  to  obey  implicitly,  and  even 
middle-aged  sons  and  daughters  had  to  be  as  submissive 


C.  R.  Leslie,  Artist. 


Offering  the  Crown  to  Lady  Jane  Grey. 


as  little  children,  she  dared  not  resist.  She  was  therefore 
forced  to  leave  her  quiet  home,  where  her  chief  pleasure 
had  been  study,  and  go  and  dwell  in  the  gloomy  Tower. 

She  was  led  thither  in  state ;  but  no  one  cheered  as  she 
passed  by,  for  all  knew  that  she  had  no  right  to  the  throne, 
and  that  Mary  was  the  real  queen.  People  were  not  very 
joyful,  however,  at  the  prospect  of  Mary's  rule,  for  she  was 
homely,  sickly,  and  not  very  well  educated,  and  the  Prot- 
estants feared  she  would  restore  the  Catholic  religion. 

STO.   OF    ENG.  — 1$ 


228 


Still,  they  would  not  oppose  her,  and  Northumberland 
could  secure  only  a  very  small  army  to  uphold  Lady  Jane 
Grey.  As  soon  as  he  had  left  London  with  it,  the  council 
went  to  Lady  Jane  Grey  and  persuaded  her  to  return  home, 
after  a  reign  of  ten  days.  You  may  be  sure  she  was  glad 
to  give  up  the  crown,  which  she  had  never  wanted,  and 
to  return  to  her  quiet  house  and  her  beloved  books. 

Meantime  Northumberland's  friends  had  nearly  all  de- 
serted him,  and  he  had  soon  fallen  into  Mary's  hands. 
In  spite  of  his  humble  entreaties  to  be  spared,  she  sent 
him  to  prison  and  had  him  executed  for  high  treason. 
Then,  upon  reaching  London,  she  ordered  that  all  the  im- 
prisoned Roman  Catholics  should  be  set  free,  and  took 
Gardiner  for  her  adviser.  Mary  opened  her  first  Parlia- 
ment with  public  mass,  and  sent  a  messenger  to  Rome  to  ask 
the  pope  to  forgive  the  English  for  having  said  he  was  not 
head  of  the  church.  Then  she  forbade  all  the  clergymen  to 
preach  until  they  had  received  a  license  from  her.  This 
permission  was  granted  only  to  those  who  were  willing  to 
recognize  the  pope  and  be  good  Roman  Catholics. 

Many  reformers  were  next  whipped,  fined,  or  impris- 
oned, and,  knowing  that  Mary  would  soon  do  worse,  some 
of  them  left  the  countrv.  Latin  services  were  once  more 
heard  in  the  churches,  where  pictures  and  statues  again 
found  a  place,  and  many  of  the  monasteries  were  given 
back  to  their  holy  inmates. 

But  while  Mary  was  making  these  changes,  she  was 
haunted  by  the  thought  that  if  she  died  without  children 
her  sister  Elizabeth  would  become  queen  and  undo  all  her 
work.  For  that  reason  she  took  a  Roman  Catholic  hus- 
band, Philip,  the  son  of  Charles  V.,  King  of  Spain. 


229 

This  marrlap^e  was  allowed  by  Parliament,  but  only  on 
condition  that  Philip  should  have  no  share  in  the  govern- 
ment, and  that  if  his  wife  died  before  him,  and  they  had 
no  children,  the  crown  should  go  to  Elizabeth.  This  made 
Philip  dislike  both  the  English  and  his  homely  wife. 

Although  Parliament  consented  to  Mary's  marriage, 
many  of  the  English  opposed  it,  for  they  had  heard  how 
cruelly  Philip  treated  all  Protestants  in  his  lands.  Some 
of  the  most  indignant  even  rebelled  and  marched  up  to 
London,  under  the  leadership  of  a  man  named  Wy'att. 
Their  intention  was  to  dethrone  Mary  and  give  the  crown 
to  Lady  Jane  Grey ;  but  they  were  defeated,  and  Wyatt 
and  several  others  were  executed. 

To  prevent  any  more  plots  of  the  same  kind,  Lady  Jane 
Grey  and  her  husband  were  sent  to  the  Tower  and  sen- 
tenced to  death  for  high  treason.  Dudley,  who  was  as 
noble  as  his  wife,  begged  that  they  might  see  each  other 
once  more  before  dying;  but  Lady  Jane  Grey  said  that 
an  interview  would  only  rob  them  of  some  of  the  courage 
necessary  to  meet  their  fate.  She  nevertheless  sent  him 
a  last  message,  saying,  "  Our  separation  will  be  only  for 
a  moment,  and  we  shall  soon  rejoin  each  other  in  a  scene 
where  our  affections  will  be  for  ever  united,  and  where 
nothing  can  have  access  to  disturb  our  eternal  happiness." 

Dudley  was  led  away  to  the  block  first,  and  from  her 
window  Lady  Jane  Grey  saw  his  body  borne  to  the  tomb. 
A  moment  later,  the  jailer  came  to  summon  her  to  die  in 
her  turn.  She  calmly  followed  him  to  the  scaffold,  told 
the  people  she  deserved  death  because  she  had  not  refused 
the  crown  more  firmly,  and,  breathing  a  last  prayer,  laid 
her  head  upon  the  block. 


230 


LXXVI.  THE  DEATH  OF  CRANMER. 

THE  execution  of  Lady  Jane  Grey,  and  of  those  who 
were  suspected  of  having  sided  with  her,  did  not  in- 
chne  the  people  to  love  either  Mary  or  Philip.  The  Eng- 
lish disliked  Philip  because  his  manners  were  very  bad,  be- 
cause he  was  so  rude  as  to  treat  his  wife  with  contempt, 
and  because  he  urged  her  to  persecute  the  reformers  and 
make  every  one  practise  the  Catholic  religion. 

The  pope  had  consented  to  forgive  the  English,  at  Mary's 
entreaty,  and  had  sent  his  legate.  Cardinal  Pole,  to  Eng- 
land. This  man  was  very  good  and  gentle,  and  he  advised 
Mary  and  Philip  not  to  illtreat  the  Protestants;  but  they 
would  not  listen  to  him. 

In  those  days  it  was  still  the  custom  for  those  in  power 
to  persecute  all  who  held  opinions  different  from  their  own. 
When  the  Protestants  were  in  power  they  had  persecuted 
all  who  did  not  believe  as  they  did.  So  now  the  Catholics 
began  to  persecute  the  Protestants.  All  who  upheld  the 
Protestant  religion  were  very  unkindly  treated,  and  about 
three  hundred  were  burned  at  the  stake  as  heretics. 

Among  these  were  two  good  old  preachers,  Latimer  and 
Ridley.  They  were  hated  by  Mary's  principal  adviser, 
Gardiner,  who  was  so  anxious  to  have  them  die  that  he 
said,  on  the  day  of  their  execution,  that  he  would  not  dine 
until  he  knew  they  were  burned.  As  the  two  friends 
walked  together  to  the  place  of  torture,  encouraging  one 
another,  Latimer  said  :  "  Be  of  good  cheer,  Brother  Ridley  ; 
we  shall  this  day  light  such  a  candle,  by  God's  grace,  in 
England,  as  I  trust  shall  never  be  put  out." 


231 

Latimer  and  Ridley  were  fastened  to  the  stake,  and 
some  of  their  friends  charitably  tied  packages  of  gunpowder 
around  their  waists,  so  that  their  tortures  should  not  be 
too  prolonged.  But  in  spite  of  these  precautions,  the  fire 
burned  so  slowly  that  the  poor  men  suffered  untold  agonies. 
The  cruel  Gardiner  was  forced  to  delay  his  dinner  four 
hours.  But  it  is  said  he  could  not  eat  it  then,  for  he  was 
suddenly  stricken  by  an  illness  from  which  he  died. 

Another  who  suffered  death  was  the  aged  Cranmer., 
whom  Mary  hated,  partly  because  it  was  he  who  had  di- 
vorced her  mother  and  had  witnessed  Edward's  will.  He 
was  accused  of  high  treason  and  of  heresy,  and  on  the 
latter  charoe  was  sentenced  to  be  burned  alive.  Cranmer 
was,  on  the  whole,  a  good  man,  but  he  shrank  from  bodily 
suffering.  So,  when  told  he  would  be  forgiven  if  he  would 
sign  a  paper  recognizing  the  pope  and  giving  up  the  Prot- 
estant religion,  he  had  not  the  courage  to  refuse. 

But  Mary  had  no  real  intention  of  letting  him  go  un- 
punished ;  and  when  Cranmer  learned  this,  he  became  de- 
fiant and  refused  to  read  this  paper  at  the  stake.  The 
queen's  officers  vainly  tried  to  prevent  his  speaking  to  the 
assembled  people ;  he  cried  aloud  that  he  regretted  his 
momentary  weakness,  and  said  that,  as  his  right  hand  had 
offended  by  signing  a  lie,  it  should  be  burned  first. 

Saying  these  words,  Cranmer  thrust  his  hand  into  the 
fire,  and  firmly  held  it  there  until  it  was  burned  off.  His 
courageous  behaviour  in  the  midst  of  awful  torture  greatly 
impressed  the  people.  In  fact,  all  these  cruel  punishments, 
which  earned  for  the  queen  among  her  enemies  the  harsh 
title  of  "  Bloody  Mary,"  had,  as  the  pope's  wise  legate  had 
foreseen,  an  effect  just  contrary  to   that  which   she  had 


232 

hoped.  Yet  Mary  thought  she  was  doing  right,  for  Philip 
urged  her  to  be  even  more  severe.  She  was  ahvays  a 
very  unhappy  woman,  for  few  people  ever  loved  her. 
Her  husband  soon  left  her  and  went  over  to  Flanders, 
where  he  did  not  even  take  the  trouble  to  read  the  long 
letters  she  sent  him.  He  was  making  war  there,  and 
needed  a  great  deal  of  money ;  so  Mary,  hoping  to  win 
his  affections,  sent  him  all  she  could. 

To  supply  him  with  funds,  she  loaded  her  people  with 
taxes,  and  by  his  order  she  declared  war  against  France. 
Parliament  would  not  at  first  consent  to  this  war;  but 
Mary,  it  is  said,  got  down  on  her  knees  to  beseech  the 
members  to  do  as  her  husband  wished.  Then  a  force  of 
ten  thousand  men  was  sent  over  to  Philip,  who  won  a  vic- 
tory at  St.  Quentin  (saN  koN-taN'). 

This  success  was  soon  offset  by  a  great  loss.  The 
French,  beaten  at  St.  Quentin,  but  knowing  that  Calais 
was  poorly  defended,  surprised  two  of  the  forts  that  pro- 
tected it,  and  forced  the  city  to  surrender  after  a  week's 
siege.  It  was  thus  that  Calais,  which  had  been  taken  by 
Edward  HI.  after  a  ten  months'  siege,  and  had  been  in  the 
hands  of  the  English  about  two  hundred  years,  became 
once  more,  in  1558,  the  property  of  the  French. 

The  news  reached  England  on  New  Year's  day,  and 
filled  the  country  with  dismay.  Mary  bewailed  the  loss  of 
"the  brightest  jewel  in  her  crown,"  and  said  that  ** Calais" 
would  be  found  graven  upon  her  heart  after  she  was  dead. 

This  loss,  added  to  her  other  sorrows,  so  weakened  her 
health  that  she  died  the  same  year.  Few  regretted  her, 
and  as  she  left  no  children,  the  crown  passed  on  to  her 
half-sister  I'^Iizabeth,  the  only  living  child  of  Henry  VIII. 


233 


LXXVII.    A    CLEVER    OUEEN. 

PARLIAMENT  was  sitting  when  Mary,  Queen  of 
England,  breathed  her  last ;  and  when  her  death  was 
announced,  the  members  all  sprang  from  their  seats  with 
shouts  of  joy,  and  cries  of  "  God  save  Queen  Elizabeth!" 
The  news  was  received  in  the  same  way  throughout  the 
kingdom,  and  was  no  less  welcome  to  the  new  queen,  who 
had  spent  the  last  five  years  in  captivity  at  Hatfield  House. 

Elizabeth  now  came  to  London,  where  she  was  joyfully 
welcomed,  and  where  one  of  her  first  acts  was  to  order  the 
release  of  all  who  were  prisoners  on  account  of  their  reli- 
gion. She  selected  Lord  Burleigh  (bur'ly),  her  brother's 
adviser,  as  her  chief  minister,  and  for  the  next  forty  years 
this  able  man  ruled  the  country  wisely. 

At  Elizabeth's  first  Parliament  the  Protestants  came  to 
beg  her  to  release  four  important  prisoners ;  and  when  the 
queen  asked  their  names,  they  answered  that  these  cap- 
tives were  Matthew,  Mark,  Luke,  and  John,  who  were 
bound  fast  in  the  Latin  language.  Elizabeth  smiled  when 
they  said  this,  but  soon  answered  that  she  would  first  in- 
quire whether  these  prisoners  wished  to  be  set  free. 

She  therefore  assembled  a  council  to  discuss  religious 
matters;  and  this  council  decided  that  it  was  best  for  the 
people  to  have  prayers,  hymns,  and  Scriptures  in  English. 
The  Church  of  England,  or  An'gli-can  Church,  was  there- 
fore again  declared  the  church  of  the  country,  and  nine 
thousand  priests  were  given  their  choice  —  to  adopt  the 
Anglican  services  and  recognize  the  queen  as  head  of  the 
church,  or  to  give  up  their  positions.      Only  two  hundred 


234 


went  away,  and  as  their  places  were  given  to  Protestants, 
the  whole  country  was  soon  under  the  same  teaching. 

Thus  the  change  was  gradually  made,  but  so  gently 
that  not  one  drop  of  blood  was  shed  or  one  estate  confis- 
cated. As  soon  as  this  was  known  abroad,  the  exiled 
Protestants  came  flocking  back.  Some  of  them  brought 
home  from  France  and  Germany  what  they  called  purer 
ideas  of  worship,  so  they  were  called  Pu'ri-tans. 

Elizabeth  was  twenty-five  when  she  came  to  the  throne. 
She  was  rather  good-looking,  very  clever  and  well  edu- 
cated, generous,  and  forgiv- 
ing.     But  she  had  also  three 
great  failings  :  she  was  vain, 
untruthful,  and  of  a  violent 
temper.      She    showed    her 
forgiving  nature  by  not  try- 
ing to  avenge  any  of  her  past 
injuries.      Even   to   a  jailer 
who  had  been  very  unkind 
to  her,  she   only  remarked 
that    he    should    have    the 
keeping     of     any     prisoner 
whom    she    wished    treated 
with  great  severity. 
Elizabeth  was  extravagantly  fond  of  dress  and  display, 
and  her  coronation  was  a  splendid  affair.      The  streets  were 
hung  with  tapestry  and  strewn  with  flowers ;   there  were 
triumphal   arches,  shows,  speeches,  and   presents  without 
number;  flags  waved,  bells  rang,  bonfires  were  lighted,  and 
it  seemed  as  if  the  whole  nation  had  gone  mad  with  joy. 
Elizabeth  had  been  so  well  taught  by  her  tutor  Ascham 


Queen  Elizabeth. 


235 

(as'kam)  that  she  was  able  to  reign  wisely.  When  she 
came  to  the  throne  the  country  was  in  debt,  the  money 
was  bad,  there  was  no  good  army  or  navy,  and  she  saw 
that  it  would  take  time  to  make  England  what  she  wanted 
it  to  become  —  one  of  the  foremost  countries  of  the  world. 
Helped  by  her  clever  ministers,  Burleigh  and  Wal'sing- 
ham,  Elizabeth  began  her  reforms,  and  she  went  ahead  so 
steadily  that  she  soon  saw  great  progress  and  in  time 
reached  her  aim.  By  her  order  commerce  and  manufac- 
ture were  encouraged,  the  army  was  properly  drilled,  and 
the  navy  was  increased  till  she  won  the  title  of  "  Queen  of 
the  Northern  Seas." 

o-o;:^0« 


LXXVIII.    ELIZABETH'S    LOVERS. 

IN  spite  of  all  her  activity  in  state  matters,  Elizabeth's 
court  was  very  brilliant  and  gay,  and  the  people  who 
gathered  around  her  rivalled  one  another  in  the  splendour 
of  their  garments,  and  in  the  fulsome  compliments  which 
they  paid  to  the  queen.  Although  so  sensible  when  dis- 
cussing business  matters  with  her  ministers,  Elizabeth  was 
often  very  silly,  and  chose  her  courtiers  more  for  their  good 
looks  or  skill  in  flattering  her  than  for  other  talents. 

She  was  at  times  very  dignified,  and  made  her  courtiers 
address  her  only  on  bended  knee;  but  at  other  moments 
her  manners  were  very  coarse.  We  are  told  that  she  used 
to  swear  very  freely,  slap  her  courtiers  on  the  back,  and 
box  the  ears  of  those  who  ventured  to  displease  her.  Her 
favourites  were  often  changed ;  but  there  was  one  among 
them,  a  brother-in-law  of  Lady  Jane  Grey,  whom  she  made 


236 

Earl  of  Leicester  and  treated  with  such  marked  favour 
that  every  one  fancied  she  loved  him. 

Leicester  himself  thought  that  the  queen  would  marry 
him,  were  he  only  free  ;  and  some  stories  say  that  he  killed 
his  gentle  wife,  Amy  Robsart,  to  whom  he  had  secretly 
been  united,  so  as  to  marry  Elizabeth.  But  while  the 
queen  took  great  delight  in  being  admired  and  made  love 
to  by  many  suitors,  she  never  accepted  any  of  them,  and 
is  hence  known  as  the  unmarried,  virgin,  or  maiden  queen. 

One  of  Elizabeth's  first  suitors  was  her  sister's  husband, 
Philip  II.,  King  of  Spain.  Although  she  never  had  the 
least  intention  of  accepting  him,  she  delayed  giving  him 
an  answer  as  long  as  she  could  ;  for  she  was  afraid  that 
if  she  refused  Philip  he  would  make  war  against  England 
before  her  army  and  navy  were  in  good  condition. 

When  she  finally  said  no  to  him,  she  told  him  it  was 
because  she  never  meant  to  marry  at  all.  But  in  spite  of 
this  decision,  she  afterwards  allowed  the  Duke  of  Alen9on 
(ah-loN-sawN^)  to  court  her  for  ten  years.  Finally  a  mar- 
riage contract  was  signed,  but  Elizabeth  jilted  this  prince 
within  a  few  weeks  of  the  time  fixed  for  her  wedding. 

Although  Elizabeth  never  gave  any  special  reason  for 
not  accepting  one  of  her  many  lovers,  people  have  said 
that  it  was  because  she  wanted  to  keep  all  the  power  in 
her  own  hands.  But  because  she  had  no  brothers  or  sis- 
ters left,  it  was  very  important  that  she  should  either  marry 
and  leave  the  crown  to  her  children,  or  decide  w^ho  should 
have  it  after  her  death. 

You  remember,  do  you  not,  how  angry  the  pope  was  when 
Henry  VIII.  divorced  Queen  Catherine,  and  how  he  said 
that  she  was  still  Henry's  wife?     Well,  as  soon  as  Eliza- 


237 


beth  (Anne  Boleyn's  daug.iter)  was  crowned,  the  pope 
sent  her  a  message  saying  that  the  crown  did  not  really 
belong  to  her,  but  that  if  she  would  abide  by  his  decision 
he  would  see  whether  she  could  be  queen  or  not. 

Elizabeth  paid  no  attention  to  this  message,  for  she  had 
decided  to  act  like  her  father  and  refuse  to  obey  the  pope. 
As  she  did  not  do  as  he  suggested,  the  pope  now  excom- 
municated her,  and  wrote  to  Mary  Stu'art  that  he  gave  the 
crown  of  England  to  her,  as  she  was  the  next  heir. 

So  Marv,  Oueen  of  Scot- 
land  and  France,  took  the  title 
of  Queen  of  England  also ; 
and  she  sent  a  French  army 
to  Scotland  to  join  the  Cath- 
olics there  in  making  war 
against  Elizabeth.  But  when 
the  French  reached  Scotland 
they  found  that  matters  had 
chanq;ed  very  much  since 
Mary  had  gone  to  France. 
A  great  Protestant  preacher 
named  Knox  had  preached 
to  the  Scotch  so  persuasively 

that,  instead  of  remaining  Catholics,  most  of  them  had 
now  become  even  stancher  Protestants  than  the  English. 

As  the  Scotch  knew  that  Mary  and  the  pope  wanted  to 
restore  the  Catholic  religion,  they  not  only  refused  to  help 
her,  but  actually  sided  with  Elizabeth  and  forced  Mary  to 
give  up  her  attempt.  Shortly  after  this,  the  young  French 
king  died,  and  his  nineteen-year-old  widow  sadly  left 
France  to  return  to  her  native  country. 


Mary  Stuart. 


238 


LXXIX.    MARY,    QUEEN    OF    SCOTS. 

WHEN  Mary  reached  Scotland,  she  was  disgusted 
at  the  rude  manners  of  the  Scotchmen.  She  was 
beautiful  and  charming,  loved  dancing  and  music,  dressed 
elegantly,  and  wished  to  have  a  gay  court,  such  as  she  had 
seen  in  France.  But  the  Scotch  had  become  so  strict  that 
they  looked  upon  dancing  as  a  crime,  and  fancied  that 
such  a  queen  must  be  very  wicked. 

The  Scotch  Protestants  tried  to  make  Mary  change  her 
religion,  and  Knox  fiercely  reproved  her  for  her  gaiety; 
but  she  would  not  listen  to  him,  and  went  on  hearing  mass, 
saying  that  her  people  might  worship  as  they  chose,  pro- 
vided they  let  her  do  the  same.  As  Mary  had  no  children, 
the  Scotchmen  soon  urged  her  to  marry  again ;  and  she, 
hoping  to  make  Elizabeth  her  friend,  begged  the  Queen 
of  England  to  find  her  a  suitable  husband. 

Elizabeth,  who  was  jealous  of  Mary  because  the  latter 
was  younger  and  prettier  than  she,  now  proposed  several 
husbands  whom  she  knew  Mary  would  not  accept.  Among 
these  was  her  favourite  Leicester,  who,  despairing  of  ever 
winning  her,  was  willing  to  marry  Mary. 

But  she  would  not  accept  him,  and  finally  chose  her 
cousin,  Lord  Darnley,  a  Roman  Catholic  and  the  next  heir 
to  the  thrones  both  of  England  and  of  Scotland. 

This  marriage  displeased  the  Protestants  and  Elizabeth, 
and  Darnley  proved  so  fickle  and  bad-tempered  that 
Mary  soon  ceased  to  find  pleasure  in  his  company.  To 
amuse  herself  she  used  to  spend  hours  in  her  own  room, 
with  her  ladies  and  her  secretary  Rizzio  (rit'se-o),  a  gal- 


David  Neal,  Artist. 


Mary  Stuart  and  Rizzio. 


(239) 


240 

lant  young  musician  who  pleased  her  by  accompanying 
her  gay  French  songs  on  his  lute. 

Before  very  long  Darnley  became  so  jealous  of  Rizzio 
that  he  burst  into  his  wife's  rooms  one  day,  accompanied 
by  several  nobles.  There  Rizzio  was  murdered,  in  spite 
of  all  her  entreaties.  This  crime  so  angered  Mary  that 
we  are  told  she  soon  dried  her  eyes,  muttering,  **  No 
more  tears;  let's  think  of  revenge." 

But  although  she  now  hated  Darnley,  she  pretended  to 
be  on  good  terms  with  him ;  and  once,  when  he  was  ill 
with  smallpox,  and  could  not  stay  in  Holyrood  Palace  lest 
he  should  give  the  disease  to  their  little  son  James,  she 
went  to  nurse  him  in  a  cottage.  One  day,  when  he  was 
nearly  well,  the  queen  went  back  to  the  palace,  to  see  the 
wedding  of  one  of  her  servants.  That  same  night,  while 
Mary  slept  at  Holyrood,  the  Edinburgh  people  were  awak- 
ened by  a  terrific  explosion.  They  ran  outdoors,  and  soon 
found  out  that  Darnley's  cottage  had  been  blown  up  with 
gunpowder,  and  that  he  and  his  servant  were  dead. 

It  was,  of  course,  perfectly  clear  that  Darnley  had  been 
murdered,  and  the  people  began  to  mutter  that  the  crime 
had  been  committed  by  the  Earl  of  BothSvell.  As  he 
had  been  a  favourite  of  the  queen,  some  of  them  added 
that  Mary  had  had  a  share  in  contriving  the  murder. 

But  when  the  case  was  tried,  a  few  days  later,  and  Both- 
well  came  riding  into  the  city  with  a  large  body-guard  of 
hired  soldiers,  no  one  dared  accuse  him  openly,  and  he 
was  acquitted.  Shortly  after,  he  suddenly  appeared  with 
a  thousand  men  and  carried  off  the  queen  to  the  Castle  of 
Dunbar.  There  he  kept  her  a  prisoner  until  she  consented 
to  marry  him,  three  months  later. 


241 


LXXX.    CAPTIVITY    OF    MARY    STUART. 

NOW,  you  must  know  that  the  story  of  Mary  Stuart  is 
perplexing.  Some  people  say  she  was  a  very  good 
but  a  very  unfortunate  woman,  while  others  say  that  she 
was  very  wicked.  The  reformers  thought  she  was  so  bad 
that  she  had  killed  Darnley  so  as  to  marry  Bothwell,  and 
they  indignantly  rose  up  against  her. 

Mur'ra}',  one  of  her  relatives,  headed  the  rebels,  defeated 
her  troops,  and  took  her  prisoner.  Bothwell,  however, 
managed  to  escape,  and,  knowing  it  would  never  be  safe 
for  him  to  come  back  to  Scotland,  he  went  to  the  Orkney 
Islands.  There  he  became  a  pirate  ;  but  after  some  years 
spent  thus  he  was  captured  and  put  into  a  Danish  dun- 
geon, where  he  died,  a  raving  maniac. 

Murray  now  took  charge  of  the  government,  sending 
Mary  to  Loch-leVen  Castle,  in  the  middle  of  a  Scotch 
lake,  whence  he  fancied  she  could  not  escape.  The 
Scotch  Parliament  next  decided  that  Mary  ought  to  give 
up  the  crown  to  her  son  James  VI.,  and  that  Murray 
should  be  regent  until  he  could  reign  alone.  So  a  paper 
was  carried  to  Mary  in  Lochleven  Castle,  and  she  was 
forced  to  sign  it  and  give  the  crown  to  her  infant  son. 

Prison  life  soon  became  so  irksome  to  Mary  that  she 
made  several  efforts  to  escape.  Once  she  bribed  a  wash- 
erwoman to  exchange  clothes  with  her,  and  then  left  the 
castle  in  the  boat  which  had  brought  the  woman.  But 
she  was  soon  detected  by  the  whiteness  and  delicacy  of 
her  hands,  and  was  brought  back  to  her  prison. 

Mary   made   several   other  unsuccessful   attempts,   but 


y 


242 

finally  escaped  with  the  help  of  a  boy  called  George 
Douglas.  Friends  were  waiting  to  meet  her,  and  Mary, 
having  raised  a  small  army,  marched  against  Murray,  who 
was  coming  to  recapture  her. 

Although  she  commanded  her  troops  in  person,  Mary 
was  defeated.  Fearing  that  the  Scotch  would  again  im- 
prison her,  she  fled  in  haste  from  the  battlefield.  Without 
pausing  once  to  rest,  she  rode  sixty  miles  to  the  frontier, 
and,  crossing  Solway  Firth,  came  into  England. 

Then  she  wrote  a  letter  to  Elizabeth,  begging  her  pro- 
tection. On  receiving  this  message,  Elizabeth  pretended 
that  she  would  be  very  glad  to  welcome  Mary  as  her  guest, 
but  she  said  that  she  could  not  do  so  until  the  Queen  of 
Scots  was  cleared  from  the  charge  of  helping  to  murder 
Darnley. 

Elizabeth  therefore  sent  attendants  to  Mary,  who  was 
lodged  in  a  castle,  while  a  committee  was  appointed  to  try 
her.  There  were  witnesses  for  and  against  her,  but  it  was 
not  settled  whether  she  was  innocent  or  guilty.  Eliza- 
beth said  that  as  long  as  the  matter  was  undecided  she 
could  neither  receive  her  kinswoman  nor  allow  her  to  leave 
England,  and  on  this  pretext  kept  her  a  prisoner. 

At  first  the  Queen  of  Scots  was  not  kept  in  close  cap- 
tivity, for  we  are  told  that  she  was  allowed  to  go  out  as 
much  as  she  pleased,  and  to  receive  visitors.  But  when 
Elizabeth  saw  that  Mary's  beauty,  intelligence,  and  pa- 
tience won  her  many  friends,  she  began  to  grow  uneasy. 
Her  uneasiness  was  increased  by  a  plot  which  was  made 
by  the  Catholics  to  kill  her,  free  Mary,  and  place  the  latter 
on  the  throne  of  England. 

This  conspiracy  was  discovered  in  time,  as  well  as  two 


243 

others  formed  by  Nor'folk  and  Bab'ing-ton,  and  most  of 
those  who  took  part  in  them  were  executed.  After  each 
attempt  to  set  Mary  free,  her  residence  was  changed,  and 
at  last  she  was  taken  to  Foth'er-in-gay  Castle.  Here  she 
was  tried,  found  guilty  of  plotting  against  Elizabeth,  and 
although  she  insisted  that  she  was  innocent  of  all  crime, 
she  was  condemned  to  death  as  a  traitor. 

The  news  of  this  sentence  was  received  with  horror  by 
the  French  and  the  Scotch,  who  both  sent  ambassadors 
to  England  to  protest  against  its  being  carried  out.  But 
Parliament  insisted  that  neither  the  queen  nor  the  country 
would  be  safe  so  long  as  Mary  lived,  so  Elizabeth  reluc- 
tantly signed  the  death-warrant. 

Mary  calmly  heard  this  paper  read  to  her,  prepared  for 
death,  wrote  her  will,  and,  after  sleeping  peacefully  for  a 
few  hours,  rose  and  dressed  as  richly  as  possible.  At  her 
request,  a  few  of  her  most  faithful  servants  were  allowed 
to  accompany  her  to  the  scaffold,  which  was  erected  in 
the  great  hall  of  the  castle. 

There,  after  freely  forgiving  the  executioners  who  knelt 
before  her  to  beg  her  pardon,  Maiy,  Queen  of  Scotland, 
committed  her  soul  to  God,  and,  laying  her  head  upon  the 
block,  gave  the  signal  for  her  death.  She  had  been  a 
prisoner  about  nineteen  years. 

When  she  was  dead,  Elizabeth  seemed  to  regret  her 
execution.  She  even  wore  mourning  for  her,  and  sent 
away  one  of  her  ministers,  on  the  ground  that  he  had  had 
the  death-warrant  executed  after  she  had  recalled  it. 


STO.   OF    EXG.  — l6 


244 


LXXXI.    WRECK    OF   THE    SPANISH    ARMADA. 

PARLIAMENT  had  fancied  that  when  Mary  was  dead 
all  trouble  from  the  Catholics  would  be  ended,  be- 
cause they  would  have  no  person  of  their  faith  to  set  upon 
the  throne.  Parliament  was  mistaken,  however,  for  Mary 
in  her  will  left  her  claims  to  the  throne  of  England  to 
Philip  II.  of  Spain,  the  champion  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church,  and  a  descendant  of  the  English  house  of  Lan- 
caster. 

Philip  II.  had  several  reasons  for  hating  the  English. 
First,  he  was  angry  because  they  had  received  him  coldly 
and  refused  him  a  share  in  the  government  when  he  mar- 
ried Queen  Mary  ;  second,  Elizabeth  had  refused  to  marry 
him  ;  third,  slie  had  either  secretly  or  openly  helped  the 
Protestants  in  the  Netherlands  when  they  revolted  against 
him;  fourth,  Elizabeth  —  in  order  to  punish  him  for  train- 
ing students  in  his  universities  to  believe  that  any  one  who 
murdered  her  would  do  a  good  deed  —  had  allowed  many 
of  her  captains  to  capture  his  gold-laden  ships  on  their  way 
from  America  to  Spain. 

These  reasons,  added  to  Mary's  will,  gave  Philip  II.  the 
excuses  he  wanted  for  making  war  against  England.  He 
therefore  prepared  an  immense  army  at  Dunkirk,  under 
the  Duke  of  Alva,  his  best  general,  and  a  huge  fleet  at 
Ca'diz.  His  ships  were  so  large  that  he  proudly  fancied 
no  one  could  resist  them,  so  he  boastingly  called  this  fleet 
the  never-to-be-beaten,  or  Invincible  Ar-ma'da. 

The  news  of  the  coming  war  and  of  Philip's  vast  prepa- 
rations terrified  the  English.     Elizabeth,  however,  did  not 


245 

seem  to  lose  courage,  and  her  noble  example  inspired  all 
those  around  her  with  hope.  Troops  were  drilled,  vessels 
were  manned,  and  arrangements  of  all  kinds  were  made. 
Elizabeth  herself  rode  through  her  army's  camp,  vowing 
that  she  wished  she  were  a  man,  so  that  she  might  fight  too. 

Her  greatest  helper  at  this  time  was  one  of  her  bravest 
seamen.  Sir  Francis  Drake.  He  had  made  many  journeys 
to  America,  had  captured  several  gold-laden  galleons,  and 
was  the  first  Englishman  to  see  the  Pacific  and  sail  around 
the  globe.  This  man  was  bold,  clever,  and  so  daring  that 
he  actually  made  his  way  into  the  harbour  of  Cadiz  and 
destroyed  part  of  the  ships  and  stores  collected  there. 

Nothing  daunted,  Philip  repaired  his  losses ;  but  the 
Invincible  Armada  no  sooner  started  out  than  it  met  a 
severe  gale  and  had  to  put  back  into  port.  Finall}%  how- 
ever, it  sailed  northward,  and  a  Scotch  pirate,  who  was  the 
first  to  discover  it,  gave  the  alarm  in  England.  There, 
as  had  been  agreed,  signal  fires  were  lighted  all  along  the 
shore  to  warn  fleet  and  army  of  the  coming  attack. 

The  ships  which  composed  the  Armada  were  much 
larger  than  the  English  vessels,  and  twice  as  numerous. 
The  English  fleet  was  under  the  orders  of  Admiral  How- 
ard ;  but  Drake,  Hawkins,  Frob'ish-er,  Winter,  and  Raleigh 
(raw'ly),  all  noted  English  seamen,  commanded  a  few  ves- 
sels, and  by  their  daring  helped  him  greatly. 

The  Spanish  galleys  were  so  heavy  that  they  moved 
slowly,  and  the  English  seamen  took  advantage  of  this  to 
seize  or  sink  all  those  which  lagged  behind  the  rest.  They 
followed  the  fleet  up  the  Channel,  and  when  it  anchored 
off  Calais,  sent  into  its  midst  boats  filled  with  burning 
materials. 


246 


The  Spaniards,  fearing  that  their  vessels  would  catch 
fire,  cut  their  cables  and  scattered  wildly,  and  many  ships 
were  captured,  one  by  one,  by  the  English.  Seeing  that 
he  was  worsted,  the  Spanish  admiral  wanted  to  return 
home;  but  as  he  did  not  dare  run  the  gantlet  by  passing 
through  the  English  Channel  amid  the  English  ships,  he 
made  up  his  mind  to  sail  around  the  British  Isles. 

The  English  pursued  him  as  long  as  their  ammunition 
held  out ;  and  when  they  left  him,  a  tempest  arose,  and 
many  of  his  vessels  were  wrecked  on  the  northern  coast. 
Here  the  inhabitants  murdered  from  five  to  seven  thousand 
Spaniards ;  but  a  few  were  rescued,  and  made  their  homes 
among  the  Irish. 

When  the  admiral  came  back  to  Spain  with  the  battered 
remains  of  his  Invincible  Armada,  Philip  remarked  that 
he  had  not  expected  him  to  make  war  against  the  billows. 
But  the  expedition  was  never  renewed,  and  Elizabeth  could 
pride  herself  upon  having  defeated  a  formidable  enemy, 
thanks  to  her  wise  foresight  in  preparing  for  war  ever  since 
she  had  come  to  the  throne.  A  medal  was  struck  to  com- 
memorate the  defeat  of  the  Armada,  and  on  it  was  the 
legend,  "  Jehovah  blew,  and  they  were  scattered  ;  "  for  the 
English  rightly  felt  that  the  victory  was  not  all  due  to  their 
valour. 

oo^iSt^oo 


LXXXII.    THE    ELIZABETHAN    AGE. 

SIR  WALTER  RALEIGH  was  one  of  the  men  who 
distinguished   themselves  in  the  fight  with  the  Ar- 
mada.     He  was  very  clever ;    and  after  studying  at  Ox- 


247 

ford,  he  fought  for  the  Protestants  in  the  Netherlands  and 
in  France. 

Raleigh  was  fond  of  fine  clothes  and  anxious  to  win  the 
favour  of  the  queen.  So  one  day  he  dressed  up  in  his 
best  garments,  and,  placing  himself  in  the  queen's  path, 
watched  for  her  coming.  Suddenly  he  saw  her  appear 
with  her  court,  and  pause  in  dismay  at  a  muddy  spot  in 
the  road.  Rushing  forward,  the  quick-witted  Raleigh 
pulled  off  his  elegant  cloak  and  carefully  spread  it  over 
the  mire,  thus  allowing  the  queen  to  proceed  without  soiling 
her  dainty  shoes.  This  courtesy  so  pleased  Elizabeth  that 
she  took  Raleigh  into  fax'our,  and  soon  after  granted  him 
an  extensive  tract  of  land  in  North  America,  which  he 
called  Virginia  in  honour  of  her,  the  Virgin  Queen. 

Another  man  highly  esteemed  by  Elizabeth  —  Spenser, 
the  author  of  a  poem  called  the  "  Faerie  Oueene  "  —  was 
introduced  to  her  by  Raleigh.  But  one  of  her  principal 
courtiers  was  Sir  Philip  Sidney,  who  is  noted  for  his  good- 
ness, his  great  talents  as  a  writer,  his  beautiful  manners, 
and  especially  for  his  truthfulness  and  generosity. 

Sidney  was  also  a  brave  general,  and  when  he  fell,  mor- 
tally wounded,  at  the  battle  of  Zut'phen,  in  Holland,  his 
follow^ers  were  in  despair.  One  of  them  succeeded  with 
great  difficulty  in  bringing  him  a  little  water  to  drink. 
But  Sir  Philip,  although  he  was  longing  for  it,  kindly  gave 
it  to  a  w^ounded  soldier  lying  near  him,  saying,  "Take  it, 
friend;  thy  necessity  is  greater  than  mine."  A  few  min- 
utes later  Sidney  was  dead.  While  he  is  honoured  for  his 
talents  and  courage,  every  one  must  feel  that  this  unselfish 
action  just  before  he  died  is  the  greatest  of  his  deeds. 

Raleigh,  Spenser,  and  Sidney  were  not  the  only  men  of 


(248) 


249 


letters,  nor  the  greatest  writers,  of  what  is  known  as  the 
EHzabethan  Age.  There  were  many  other  poets  and 
prose  writers  whose  works  will  some  day  interest  you  ; 
but  the  greatest  of  them  all  was  William  Shakespeare. 

This  famous  writer  of  plays  came  to  London  a  poor  young 
man,  took  a  place  as  actor  in  a  theatre,  and  often  played 
before  the  queen.  He  soon  discovered  that  he  could  also 
write  plays,  and  he  produced  such  fine  tragedies  and  come- 
dies that  no  other  poet  has  ever  been  able  to  equal  them, 
and  they  are  now  read  and  \iewed  with  even  more  delight 
than  in  the  days  when  he  took  part  in  them  himself. 

Besides  the  plays  of  Shakespeare  and  of  the  other  writers 
of  his  time,  Elizabeth  delighted  in  pageants,  or  outdoor 
plays,  and  whenever  she  went  to  visit  the  great  lords  of 
her  realm,  they  used  to  entertain  her  with  such  shows. 

We  are  told  that  Elizabeth  was  very  fond  of  making 
what  was  then  called  a  **  progress  "  through  some  part  of 
her  kino'dom.  On  these  state  occasions  she  wore  her 
richest  garments  and  jewels,  was  carried  in  her  litter  by 
the  noblest  of  her 
courtiers,  attended 
by  countless  knights 
and  ladies,  and  wel- 
comed everywhere 
with  music,  fire- 
works, and  festivi- 
ties of  all  kinds. 

One  of  the  grand- 
est of  her  progresses 

was  made  to  the  Castle  of  Kenihvorth,  where  she  went  to 
visit  her  favourite  Leicester,  and  where  he  spent  a  fortune 


Ruins  of  Kenilworth  Castle. 


2^0 


to  please  her.  All  this  display  was  very  agreeable  to 
Elizabeth,  who  insisted  upon  seeing  every  one  well 
dressed.  She  herself  wore  the  most  gorgeous  apparel, 
but  as  she  was  afraid  lest  some  one  else  should  look  bet- 
ter in  one  of  her  dresses  than  she,  all  her  garments  were 
carefully  put  away,  and  when  she  died  three  thousand 
discarded  gowns  were  found  hanging  in  her  wardrobes. 


-0-0>@<0<)- 


LXXXIII.    DEATH    OF    ELIZABETH. 

WHEN  Leicester  grew  too  old  to  please  Elizabeth, 
he  presented  to  her  his  son-in-law,  the  handsome 
Essex.  The  queen  lavished  gifts  of  all  kinds  upon  this 
favourite,  and  when  Burleigh  died,  after  serving  her  faith- 
fully for  forty  years,  she  made  Essex  her  principal  adviser. 

Trouble  having  arisen  in  Ireland,  Elizabeth  sent  Essex 
thither  to  put  down  a  rebellion  headed  by  the  Earl  of 
Ty-rone'.  But  Essex  had  been  spoiled  by  the  favour  shown 
him,  and  disobeyed  the  queen's  orders.  Hearing  that  she 
was  angry,  he  came  home  without  her  permission,  and 
forced  his  way  into  her  presence  all  travel-stained. 

The  queen,  who  was  already  displeased,  fancied  that  his 
soiled  garments  were  a  token  of  disrespect,  and  coldly 
bade  him  withdraw.  This  repulse  was  so  unexpected 
that  Essex  fell  ill;  but  when  the  queen  heard  he  was 
suffering,  she  shed  tears,  and  sent  him  soup  from  her  own 
table. 

Essex  had  made  such  grave  blunders  while  in  Ireland 
that  a  council  was  called  to  judge  him  ;  but  he,  thinking 


251 

the  queen  had  forgiven  him,  seemed  not  to  fear  a  trial. 
He  came  about  the  court  as  usual,  and  when  the  queen 
refused  to  grant  him  a  favour,  he  spitefully  remarked  that 
now  she  was  an  old  woman  she  was  as  crooked  in  mind  as 
in  person.  This  speech  was  reported  to  Elizabeth,  whose 
vanity  was  so  hurt  that  she  allowed  the  council  to  imprison 
and  try  her  former  favourite,  and  to  sentence  him  to  death 
for  high  treason. 

But,  according  to  one  famous  story,  she  fancied  she  could 
still  help  him,  for  she  had  once  given  him  a  ring,  saying 
that  if  he  should  ever  be  in  any  trouble  he  need  but  send 
it  to  her  and  she  would  save  him.  Elizabeth  felt  sure  Es- 
sex would  make  use  of  this  ring  to  save  his  life,  but  it  was 
not  brought  to  her.  Essex,  on  his  part,  could  not  believe 
that  the  queen  would  really  allow  him  to  die,  and  even  on 
his  way  to  the  scaffold  he  kept  watching  for  a  messenger 
bringing  his  pardon. 

Not  very  long  after  his  death,  the  Countess  of  Notting- 
ham begged  the  queen  to  come  to  her,  as  she  wished  to 
tell  her  something  before  she  breathed  her  last.  EHzabeth 
complied  wath  this  request,  and  then  the  dying  countess 
confessed  that  Essex  had  given  her  a  ring  to  carry  to  the 
queen,  but  that  her  husband  would  not  let  her  do  so.  As 
she  finished  her  confession  she  begged  the  queen  to  for- 
give her;  but  Elizabeth  angrily  shook  her,  saying,  "God 
may  forgive  you,  but  I  never  can!" 

Perhaps  this  romantic  tale  is  true,  and  it  was  this  confes- 
sion she  had  just  heard  that  embittered  the  rest  of  Eliza- 
beth's life.  Anyway,  she  soon  became  ill,  took  no  food, 
and  lay  on  the  floor  ten  days,  refusing  to  be  moved.  Her 
attendants  supported  her  there  with  cushions,  and  when 


252 

she  became  too  ill  to  resist,  they  put  her  into  her  bed, 
where  she  died  (1603). 

Although  Elizabeth  was  a  tyrannical  ruler  for  forty-five 
years,  she  had  so  many  fine  qualities  that  she  was  called, 
and  is  still  known,  as  *'  good  Queen  Bess."  She  was  the 
last  of  the  five  rulers  of  the  Tudor  line. 


-o-o>8><c 


LXXXIV.    A    SCOTCH    KING. 

ONE  hundred  and  eighteen  years  had  passed  since  the 
Tudors  first  became  masters  of  England  on  Bosworth 
battlefield.  There  were  no  Tudors  left,  and  as  Elizabeth 
had  never  before  been  willing  to  name  a  successor,  her 
ministers,  as  she  lay  on  her  deathbed,  begged  her  to  ap- 
point one.  She  was  then  too  weak  to  speak,  but  nodded 
her  approval  when  they  suggested  that  the  crown  should 
go  to  her  nearest  relative,  James  VI.  of  Scotland,  the  only 
child  of  Mary  Stuart  and  Darnley. 

This  monarch,  who  was  already  thirty-seven  years  old, 
therefore  became  King  of  England,  which,  with  Scotland, 
is  called  Great  Britain.  But  although  the  crowns  were 
united,  the  parliaments  were  separate  for  about  a  century 
longer.  James  I.  of  England,  as  the  new  king  was  called, 
immediately  set  out  for  his  new  realm,  and  on  his  journey 
thither  he  gave  the  title  of  knight  to  many  men.  He  had 
been  born  a  Roman  Catholic  and  brought  up  a  Puritan  ; 
but  he  now  favoured  the  Church  of  England,  to  the  dis- 
appointment of  both  Catholics  and  Puritans. 

A  few  of  the  former,  seeing  he  would  not  restore  the 


253 

Catholic  religion,  as  they  had  hoped,  now  made  a  conspir- 
acy to  put  his  cousin  Lady  Arabella  Stuart  upon  the 
throne.  They  failed,  however;  but  as  the  poor  lady  had 
been  merely  their  tool,  she  was  at  first  kindly  treated. 
When  she  escaped  from  prison  and  married,  James  had  her 
captured  again  and  closely  guarded  until  she  died. 

Several  noted  Catholic  gentlemen  were  accused  of 
having  taken  part  in  this  plot,  among  others  the  famous 
Sir  Walter  Raleigh.  He  was  imprisoned,  tried,  and  sen- 
tenced like  the  rest ;  but  for  some  reason  he  was  reprieved, 
and  spent  the  next  twelve  years  in  the  Tower.  Here  he 
was  allowed  to  receive  visitors  and  to  write  and  study  as 
much  as  he  pleased. 

In  the  reign  of  Elizabeth  tobacco  was  first  brought  to 
England  by  Raleigh.  It  was  such  a  curiosity  that  a  new 
servant,  entering  Sir  Walter's  room  and  finding  him 
smoking,  fancied  that  his  master  was  on  fire,  and  hastily 
flung  a  pitcherful  of  water  over  him.  As  James  did  not 
approve  of  smoking,  he  wrote  a  book  against  the  practice, 
pompously  calling  it  "A  Counterblast  to  Tobacco."  He 
was  so  proud  of  this  work,  and  of  all  his  intellectual  gifts, 
that  the  French  wittily  called  him  "  the  wisest  fool  in 
Christendom." 

James  I.  was  homely,  vain,  stupid,  and  so  untidy  in 
person  and  habits  that  even  his  friends  compared  him  to 
the  filthiest  of  all  animals.  He  was  also  mean,  untruthful, 
and  so  fond  of  eatinor  and  drinkinof  that  he  has  often  been 
called  a  drunkard  and  a  glutton.  His  principal  amusement 
lay  in  hunting  and  cockfighting,  or,  as  he  prided  himself 
upon  being  very  learned,  in  arguing  about  religion. 

Hoping  to  settle  all  church  difficulties,  and  especially  to 


254 

show  his  talent  in  argument,  James  soon  called  a  religious 
conference.  Although  this  meeting  did  not  do  all  that 
he  had  hoped,  it  decreed  a  careful  revision  of  the  Bible. 
During  the  next  four  years,  it  is  said,  fifty  learned  men 
worked  hard  at  this  translation,  and  finally  printed  what 
is  still  known  as  **  King  James's  Bible." 

The  Puritans,  Independents,  Sep'a-ra-tists,  and  Non- 
con-form'ists,  as  those  who  would  not  conform  to  the  estab- 
lished religion  were  called,  would  not  yield.  Parliament 
refused  to  change  the  laws,  so  James  boastingly  said  :  "  I 
will  make  them  conform,  or  I  will  harry  them  out  of  the 
kincrdom." 

It  was  because  James  was  so  determined  to  have  his 
subjects  worship  as  he  wished,  that  some  of  them  resolved 
to  leave  the  country.  A  small  band  of  Separatists  first 
went  over  to  Holland  ;  but,  seeing  that  their  children  would 
soon  forget  the  English  language  and  their  native  country 
if  they  continued  to  dwell  there,  they  came  back  to  Eng- 
land, and,  embarking  on  the  Mayflozver,  set  sail  for  the  New 
World  to  make  their  homes  there.  These  Separatists,  who 
are  known  as  the  Pilgrim  Fathers,  landed  on  Plym'outh 
Rock  in  1620,  and  founded  the  first  colony  in  New  England. 


-o-o>#;o<>- 


LXXXV.    THE    GUNPOWDER    PLOT. 

SHORTLY  after  the  king's  religious  convention,  some 
of  the  Roman  Catholics,  seeing  they  would  never  get 
what  they  wanted  from  the  king,  formed  a  plot  to  blow 
him  up,  with  his  eldest  son  and  all  the  members  of  Parlia- 


255 

ment.  With  this  purpose  in  view,  they  hired  the  cellars 
under  the  hall  where  Parliament  sat,  and  stored  away 
there  great  quantities  of  gunpowder  and  fuel. 

One  of  the  conspirators,  anxious  to  save  the  life  of  a 
friend,  wrote  him  a  letter  warning  him  not  to  go  to  Parlia- 
ment on  a  certain  day,  as   his   life   would   be  in  danger. 


The  Present  Houses  of  Parliament  (built  since  1840). 

This  letter  seemed  so  suspicious  that  the  man  who  received 
it  showed  it  to  the  king.  James,  on  reading  it,  cleverly 
discovered  its  hidden  meaning,  and  immediately  sent  some 
officers  to  visit  the  cellars  under  Parliament  House. 

These  officers,  entering  unexpectedly,  found  there  a 
man  named  Guy  Fawkes,  and  seized  him.  It  was  well 
they  did  so,  for  when  they  searched  him,  they  found  he 
had  a  lantern  and  slow-match  all  ready.  Clearing  away 
the  fuel,  they  next  discovered  the  barrels  of  gunpowder, 
and  a  train  all  ready  laid  to  set  them  off. 


256 

When  they  asked  Guy  Fawkes  why  he  had  so  much 
pcwder  stored  there,  he  gruffly  answered  that  it  was  to 
blow  the  Scotchmen  back  to  Scotland.  He  was  taken  off 
to  prison,  where,  under  torture,  he  revealed  the  names  of 
his  fellow-conspirators.  Those  who  had  taken  part  in  the 
Gunpowder  Plot  were  arrested,  and  hanged,  drawn,  and 
quartered. 

The  narrow  escape  of  the  king  and  Parliament  was 
commemorated  by  a  yearly  holiday  on  the  5th  of  Novem- 
ber. On  that  day  there  were  bonfires  everywhere,  and 
after  a  straw  effigy  of  Guy  Fawkes  had  been  duly  paraded 
through  the  streets,  it  was  publicly  burned.  This  holiday, 
which  is  still  celebrated  in  England,  was  observed  also  in 
America  until  the  time  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 

Throughout  James's  reign  there  was  a  constant  struggle 
between  the  Parliament  and  the  crown.  James  fancied 
that  a  king  reigned  by  divine  right  and  could  do  as  he 
pleased ;  so  whenever  Parliament  opposed  him,  he  dis- 
solved it.  Finding,  howe\er,  that  this  did  no  good,  and 
that  each  new  Parliament  was  more  or  less  against  him,  he 
tried  to  get  along  without  any. 

But  as  he  was  always  in  need  of  money,  and  as  he  could 
not  raise  it  by  taxes,  except  through  Parliament,  he  was 
often  forced  to  resort  to  strange  means.  Besides  asking 
for  benevolences,  or  gifts,  from  rich  people,  he  sold  titles 
and  offices,  and  tried  many  other  ways  of  raising  money. 
The  funds  he  obtained,  however,  were  not  wisely  used, 
for  James  was  both  lavish  and  miserly. 

Once,  for  instance,  he  ordered  that  ^20,000  should  be 
given  to  his  first  favourite,  a  worthless  creature  by  the 
name  of  Carr.     The  treasurer,  knowing  that  James  would 


257 

not  willingly  give  away  the  money  if  he  only  realized  how 
much  it  represented,  made  a  heap  of  it  and  showed  it  to 
the  king.  James  gazed  at  it  in  wonder,  and  when  he 
heard  that  this  glittering  heap  of  gold  was  the  sum  he 
had  promised  Carr,  he  flung  himself  upon  it  and  clasped 
it  in  his  arms,  saying  he  could  not  part  with  it. 

To  increase  his  own  wealth,  as  much  as  for  the  good 
of  the  country,  James  encouraged  commerce.  This  was  a 
great  advantage,  and  London  grew  rapidly,  owing  to  the 
trade  brought  by  the  ships  which  came  up  the  Thames 
(temz).  Once,  when  angry  with  the  lord  mayor,  who  re- 
fused him  funds,  James  threatened  to  leave  London  and 
establish  his  capital  elsewhere,  thinking  such  a  measure 
would  diminish  the  city's  trade.  But  the  lord  mayor  an- 
swered this  threat  by  saying,  "  Your  majesty  hath  power 
to  do  what  you  please,  and  your  city  of  London  will  obey 
accordingly ;  but  she  humbly  begs  that  when  your  maj- 
esty shall  remove  your  courts,  you  would  please  leave  the 
Thames  behind  you." 

The  mayor,  you  see,  realized  that  It  was  owing  more  to 
the  Thames  than  to  the  presence  of  king  and  court  that 
London  had  become  so  thriving  a  city. 


■o-o>Qt;oo- 


LXXXVI.    SIR  WALTER    RALELGH. 

DURING  the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  in  the  year  1600,  some 
English  traders  formed  the  East  India  Company. 
Their  charter  was  renewed  in  the  reign  of  James,  and  at 
the  same  time  a  traveller  named  Cor'yat  wrote  an  account 


258 

of  his  visit  to  one  of  the  greatest  Indian  rulers,  and  gave 
an  enthusiastic  description  of  the  country,  Httle  suspecting 
that  it  would,  in  days  to  come,  belong  to  the  English. 

James's  eldest  son,  Prince  Henry,  was  such  a  very  good 
and  clever  lad  that  every  one  loved  him.  The  prince  was 
very  fond  of  learned  men,  so  he  often  visited  Raleigh  in 
the  Tower,  where  the  latter  was  busy  writing  a  history  of 
the  world  for  his  use.  Henry  greatly  admired  Raleigh, 
who  had  travelled  so  much,  and  who  conferred  an  inesti- 
mable benefit  on  Ireland  by  bringing  potatoes  over  from 
America  to  plant  there. 

Henry  was  sorry  to  see  this  able  man  languish  in  prison, 
and  he  was  once  heard  to  say  :  "  No  king  but  my  father 
would  keep  such  a  bird  in  such  a  cage!"  Unfortunately 
for  Raleigh,  the  young  prince  did  not  live  long  enough  to 
free  him,  but  suddenly  died  from  a  cold  caught  after  play- 
ing a  violent  game  of  tennis. 

Some  time  after  that,  James,  being  short  of  money,  and 
hearing  that  Raleigh  knew  where  a  gold  mine  was  to  be 
found,  took  him  out  of  prison,  and,  giving  him  a  vessel, 
sent  him  in  search  of  the  treasure.  In  this  expedition 
Raleigh  got  into  trouble  with  the  Spaniards,  and  when 
he  came  home  without  any  money,  the  king  was  so  angry 
that  he  sent  him  back  to  the  Tower  to  be  executed. 

Raleigh  was  a  good  and  brave  man,  and,  knowing  he  was 
innocent,  he  went  to  his  death  without  fear.  When  he 
was  on  the  scafifold,  he  gently  ran  his  finger  along  the 
edge  of  the  ax,  and  then,  giving  it  to  the  executioner,  he 
said:  "  This  is  a  sharp  medicine,  but  a  cure  for  all  evils." 

James,  having  seiit  away  his  favourite  Carr  because  the 
latter  ceased   to   amuse   him,  now  took   up  a  young  man 


259 

whose  principal  attractions  were  his  good  looks  and  graceful 
dancing.  He  bestowed  upon  this  new  favourite  the  title 
of  Duke  of  Buckingham,  and  soon  no  one  could  approach 
the  king  except  through  this  "  Steenie,"  whose  only  aim 
was  to  lead  a  merry  life  and  get  a  great  deal  of  money. 

This  vicious  man  spent  much  of  his  time  with  the  king's 
son  Charles,  for  whom  he  did  not  set  a  good  example. 
He  even  went  in  disguise  with  the  }'oung  prince  to  the 
court  of  Spain,  for  Charles  was  anxious  to  see  the  Spanish 
princess  whom  he  was  to  marry.  On  their  way,  the  two 
young  men  visited  the  French  court,  where  they  saw  Hen- 
rietta Maria,  the  king's  fair  sister. 

On  reaching  Spain,  Buckingham  w^as  coldly  received. 
This  made  him  so  angry  that  he  soon  influenced  James  to 
give  up  the  Spanish  match,  and  to  bargain  with  France  for 
the  hand  of  Princess  Henrietta. 

James's  daughter  married  the  Elector  Frederick  V.,  so 
England  was  dragged  into  the  war  then  troubling  Europe, 
wdiich  is  known  as  the  Thirty  Years'  War.  Here  the  Eng- 
lish and  the  Spanisli  were  opposed  to  each  other;  for 
since  the  marriage  between  Charles  and  the  Spanish  prin- 
cess had  been  broken  off,  thev  had  ceased  to  be  friends. 

Four  very  clever  men  lived  in  the  reign  of  King  James. 
The  first  was  Lord  Francis  Bacon,  one  of  Elizabeth's  ad- 
visers. This  man  w^as  very  talented,  but  he  accepted 
bribes,  and  was  sent  away  from  court  in  disgrace.  The 
second,  Ben  Jonson,  wrote  so  well  that  he  came  to  be  re- 
garded as  Shakespeare's  successor,  and  was  buried  in 
Westminster  Abbey.  The  third  was  John  Na'pi-er,  a  man 
of  science,  who  invented  the  tables  of  logarithms,  which 
in  higher  arithmetic   help  as  much  as  the   multiplication 

STO.   OF    ENG.  — 17 


26o 


tables  in  easier  sums.  The  fourth  was  the  Dutch  artist 
Van-dyke',  who  first  came  over  to  England  to  paint  the 
portrait  of  James  I.      Later  on,  he  became  court  painter  to 


Ed.  Eiidei,  Aiti.si. 


Charles  I.  and  Vandyke  at  Hampton  Court. 

Charles  I.,  and  his  portraits  of  that  unhappy  king,  of  the 
beautiful  queen,  and  of  the  royal  children,  now  form  the 
principal  decoration  of  a  room  in  Windsor  Palace,  which 
bears  the  artist's  name. 


-oO>^  Oo- 


LXXXVII.    KING    AND    PARLIAMENT. 

WHEN  King  James  I.  died  of  ague,  in  1625,  his  son 
Charles  became  King  of  Great  Britain  in  his  stead. 
He  was  a  most  kind-hearted  and  amiable  prince,  devoted 


26l 


to  his  wife  Henrietta  Maria,  —  whom  he  married  shortly 
after  he  became  king,  —  and  an  excellent  father.  Unfor- 
tunately, however,  Charles  was  a  bad  king.  His  father 
had  taught  him  to  believe  in  the  divine  right  of  kings,  and 
Buckingham  had  taught  him  that  a  promise  made  to  his 
people  need  not  be  regarded  as  sacred. 

When  Charles  came  to  the  throne,  he  found  that  his 
father  had  not  only  spent  all  the  money  in  the  treasury, 
but  had  left  large  debts.  Moreover,  money  had  to  be 
raised  to  carry  on  the  war  against  Spain  ;  so  Charles  called 
a  Parliament  and  asked  it  for  funds.  Now  the  members 
not  only  hated  the  queen  because  she  was  a  Catholic,  but 
were  anxious  to  have  the  king  dismiss  his  favourite,  Buck- 
ingham. So  they  said  they  would  do  as  Charles  wished 
if  he  sent  Buckingham  away.  The  king  refused,  and  as 
Parliament  would  not  grant  him  as  much  money  as  he 
w^anted,  he  dissolved  it.  Then  the  Catholics  soon  began 
to  trouble  him,  because  he  did  not  give  them  all  the  privi- 
leges they  wanted ;  so  he  listened  to  the  advice  of  Buck- 
ingham, and,  to  punish  the  French  king  for  helping  Spain, 
decided  to  send  aid  to  the  Hu'gue-nots,  or  French  Protes- 
tants. They  were  then  closely  besieged  at  La  Rochelle 
(ro-shel'),  a  town  on  the  coast  of  France. 

The  first  expedition,  under  Buckingham,  failed.  To  get 
money  for  a  second,  Charles  granted  Parliament  the  Peti- 
tion of  Right  (1628),  an  enlarged  edition  of  the  Great 
Charter.  The  money  secured,  a  fleet  was  made  ready  ; 
but  when  Buckingham  was  about  to  take  command  of  it, 
he  was  murdered  by  a  man  who  fancied  it  would  be  well 
to  rid  the  country  of  so  vicious  a  creature. 

Although  Buckingham's  death  was  no  loss  to  the  people, 


262 


the  king  missed  him  sorely.  He  needed  an  adviser,  and, 
hoping  to  please  every  one,  he  selected  a  Puritan  leader 
for  his  minister,  and  made  him  Earl  of  Strafford.  At  first 
the  Puritans  were  well  satisfied  ;  but  when  they  saw  thai 
Strafford  used  all  his  great  talents  to  uphold  the  king, 
thev  were  verv  ansfrv.  Thev  showed  this  bv  refusino-  to 
do  what  the  king  asked,  when  the  next  Parliament  met. 
Charles  therefore  sent  them  awav  in  wrath,  vowinsf  he 
would  govern  without  any  Parliament,  although  he  knew 
this  was  as^ainst  the  law. 

During  the  next  eleven  years  Charles  ruled  alone,  helped 
only  by  his  two  ministers,  Strafford  and  Laud.  He  raised 
a  great  deal  of  money  by  fines  imposed  by  the  Star  Cham- 
ber; but  as  this  did  not  prove  enough,  he  finally  sent  out 
an  order  calling  for  ship  money. 

Until  then,  whenever  the  country  was  in  danger,  the 
people  living  along  the  coast  had  been  called  upon  to  pay 
a  tax  which,  as  it  was  used  for  the  navy,  was  called  ship 
money.  Now  Charles  asked  that  all  the  people  in  England 
should  pay  this  tax,  a  thing  he  had  no  right  to  do,  for  the 
right  of  imposing  taxes  belongs  to  Parliament  only. 

The  result  was  that  people  grumbled  a  great  deal,  and 
one  rich  man,  named  Hamp'den,  who  did  not  like  to  see 
his  countrymen  treated  unjustly,  refused  to  pay  it.  He 
was  promptly  brought  before  the  court,  where  only  four 
men  out  of  twelve  had  the  moral  courage  to  say  that  the 
king  was  doing  wrong.  Still,  although  people  did  not 
dare  say  so  openly,  and  although  the  court  forced  Hamp- 
den to  pay  ship  money,  all  were  indignant  and  ready  to 
revolt  against  a  king  who  did  not  respect  the  laws  he  had 
solemnly  promised  to  uphold. 


263 


LXXXVIII.    CAVALIERS   AND   ROUNDHEADS. 

TAUD,  one  of  the  advisers  of  Charles  I.,  now  told  him 
L^  that  there  would  be  less  trouble  if  all  the  people 
were  of  one  religion,  and  thus  persuaded  the  king  to  say 
that  everybody  ought  to  conform  to  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land. The  result  was  that  many  Puritans  and  Catholics 
alike  set  sail  for  America  to  found  new  colonies,  where 
they  should  have  the  right  to  worship  as  they  pleased. 

But  when  Charles  bade  the  Scotch  conform  to  the  Eng- 
lish Church,  they  resisted  openly.  One  old  woman  even 
flung  a  chair  at  the  preacher's  head  when  he  began  to  read 
the  Anglican  service ;  and  the  excited  people,  assembling 
in  great  numbers,  drew  up  a  "  Covenant,"  or  agreement, 
whereby  they  bound  themselves  to  resist  any  religious 
changes.  All  those  who  signed  this  paper  were  called 
Covenanters,  and  as  they  were  determined  to  fight  rather 
than  yield,  they  began  to  drill,  and  fortified  their  towns. 

Hearing  of  this,  Charles  marched  northward  with  an 
army,  which  he  was  obliged  to  dismiss  before  he  reached 
Scotland,  because  he  had  no  money  with  which  to  pay  his 
soldiers  or  buy  them  food.  As  he  could  do  nothing  with- 
out funds,  Charles  called  a  Parliament  which  was  so 
promptly  dissolved  that  it  is  known  as  the  Short  Parliament. 

A  second  Parliament  soon  assembled,  and  this  time  the 
members  began  by  accusing  Strafford  and  Laud  of  giving 
the  king  bad  advice.  They  were  so  angry  with  the  former 
that,  in  spite  of  all  he  could  urge  in  his  own  defence,  they 
sentenced  him  to  death. 

Charles,  who  was  attached  to  Strafford,  refused  to  sign 


264 

the  death-warrant  until  the  condemned  minister  wrote 
him  a  noble  letter,  saying  that  it  would  be  best  to  do  so, 
in  order  to  pacify  the  House  of  Commons.  The  king  then 
weakly  yielded,  and  poor  Strafford  was  beheaded. 

Next,  a  law  was  made  providing  that  Parliament  could 
not  be  dissolved  (which  meant  sent  away  for  good  and  all) 
or  adjourned  (which  .meant  sent  away  for  a  short  time), 
except  by  its  own  consent.  Parliament  also  put  an  end 
to  the  Star  Chamber,  and  began  to  right  various  wrongs. 
But  while  these  reforms  were  going  on,  a  rebellion  broke 
out  among  the  Irish,  who  killed  thousands  of  Englishmen 
in  a  few  days. 

As  Parliament  still  refused  to  give  Charles  money  and 
soldiers  to  put  down  this  rebellion,  the  king  tried  to  frighten 
the  members  by  marching  into  their  place  of  meeting  with 
his  guards,  to  arrest  five  of  the  principal  men,  among  w^hom 
were  the  patriots  Hampden  and  Pym.  But  they  managed 
to  escape,  and  the  Speaker,  or  head  of  the  House  of  Com- 
mons, refused  to  tell  the  king  where  they  had  gone. 

Seeing  that  Parliament  was  using  the  money  got  by 
taxes  to  raise  an  army  to  oppose  him,  Charles  soon  with- 
drew to  York,  where  he  was  joined  by  many  noblemen 
and  Catholics,  who,  on  account  of  their  gallant  bearing, 
were  called  Cavaliers.  As  the  opposite  party  was  com- 
posed principally  of  Puritans  who  wore  their  hair  cut 
short,  they  were  soon  dubbed  Roundheads,  a  name  which 
you  will  often  hear. 

The  Royalists,  or  Cavaliers,  were  led  by  the  king  himself 
and  by  his  nephew,  the  gallant  Prince  Ru^pert,  while  the 
Puritans  followed  the  lead  of  Hampden  and  Pym  in  poli- 
tics, and  that  of  Fair'fax  and  Oliver  Cromwell  in  war.    The 


265 


king  gave  the  signal  for  civil  strife  by  raising  his  standard 
on  Nottingham  Hill  in  1642  ;  and  when  it  was  blown  down 
during  a  storm,  people  regarded  this  as  a  bad  omen. 

During  the  next  six  years  the  civil  war  raged ;  and 
while  the  Cavaliers  fought  with  daring,  they  were  not  able 
to  hold  out  against  the  steady 
discipline  of  the  Roundheads. 
Although  beaten  at  Edgehill, 
the  Puritans  won  victories  at 
Marston  Moor  and  at  Nase'by, 
where  Charles  vainly  tried  to 
rally  his  troops  by  calling  to  his 
men,  "  One  charge  more,  and 
we  recover  the  day!" 

Seeing  that  all  was  over,  the 
king  fled  in  disguise  and  sur- 
rendered to  the  Scotch  troops, 

thinking    that,    although    they  Oliver  Cromwell, 

too   had   rebelled,  they   would 

treat  him  kindly.  His  baggage  fell  into  the  hands  of 
Cromwell,  who,  instead  of  imitating  the  conduct  of  the 
great  Roman  generals,  read  all  Charles's  private  letters. 

He  not  only  read  them,  but  had  them  published ;  and 
when,  later  on,  the  people  saw  that  the  queen  had  gone  to 
Holland  to  pawn  the  crown  jewels,  and  that  the  king  still 
meant  to  have  his  own  way,  they  began  to  quote  these 
letters.  The  Scotch  were  indignant,  too ;  and  when  Par- 
liament refused  to  pay  them  for  their  services  unless  they 
gave  up  the  king,  they  tamely  yielded. 


266 


LXXXIX.    "  REMEMBER." 

AT  first  Charles  was  treated  with  great  respect,  although 
/\^  closely  guarded ;  but  before  it  was  decided  what  to 
do  next,  a  quarrel  arose  between  Parliament,  which  was 
mostly  Puritan,  and  the  army,  which  was  composed  of  a 
very  strict  set  of  Roundheads,  called  the  Independents. 

The  army  was  ver}-  determined  to  have  things  its  own 
way,  and,  seeing  that  Parliament  showed  signs  of  coming 
to  terms  with  the  king,  Cromwell  sent  his  captain  Joyce 
to  seize  Charles.  The  king,  surprised,  asked  to  see  Joyce's 
warrant ;  but  when  the  captain  silently  pointed  to  the  men 
who  formed  his  escort,  he  said  :  "  Your  warrant  is  indeed 
drawn  up  in  fair  characters  and  legible." 

It  was  useless  to  resist,  so  Charles,  w^ho  all  through  his 
trials  behaved  with  great  dignity  and  gentleness,  quietly 
allowed  himself  to  be  taken  to  Hampton  Court.  Then, 
seeing  that  Parliament  was  inclined  to  forgive  the  king, 
Cromw^ell  placed  soldiers  at  the  door  to  prevent  any  but 
Independent  members  from  going  in.  It  was  thus  that 
the  Rump  Parliament,  so  called  because  it  was  only  a 
small  part  of  the  state  body,  voted  that  the  government 
should  be  placed  in  its  hands,  and  that  Charles  should 
be  tried  as  a  traitor  for  taking  up  arms  against  the  law. 

The  king  was  therefore  brought  before  his  judges,  who 
addressed  him  as  Charles  Stuart.  But  he  refused  to  answer 
their  questions,  saying  they  had  no  right  to  try  him. 
When  they  accused  him  of  treachery,  in  the  name  of  the 
people  of  England,  a  voice  in  the  audience  boldly  cried 
out:  *'No;  not  a  tenth  part  of  them." 


26; 


^. 


But  although  many  were  still  ready  to  defend  the  king, 
although  the  French  and  the  Scotch  protested  against  his 
arrest,  and  although  Prince  Charles,  the  king's  eldest  son, 
promised  to  do  anything  Parliament  wished  if  it  would 
only  spare  his  father,  Charles  was  condemned  to  death. 

The  king  heard  his  sentence  calmly,  and  asked  only  that 
he  might  take  leave  of  two  of  his  children,  who  were  still 


F.  Goodalt,  Artist. 


The  Children  of  Charles  I. 


in  England.  This  wish  was  granted  ;  and  when  Charles 
had  his  little  son  on  his  knee,  he  kissed  him  and  said: 
"  Mark,  my  child,  what  I  say  :  they  will  cut  off  my  head, 
and  will  want  to  make  thee  king;  but  thou  must  not  be 
king  so  long  as  thy  brothers  Charles  and  James  are  alive. 
Therefore  I  charge  thee  not  to  be  made  king  by  them." 

Little  Prince  Henry,  who  was  too  young  to  understand 
what  was  going  on,  was,  however,  so  impressed  by  what 


268 


his  father  said,  that  he  looked  up  into  Charles's  face  and 
solemnly  said:  "  I  will  be  torn  in  pieces  first!" 

This  parting  over,  Charles  got  ready  to  die,  with  the 
help  of  his  chaplain  Juxon.  He  slept  peacefully  the  last 
night,  and,  hearing  that  it  was  cold  out  of  doors,  he  put 
on  two  shirts,  lest  the  wind  should  make  him  shiver  on  the 
scaffold  and  the  people  should  think  he  was  afraid  to  die. 

The  scaffold  had  been  erected  just  outside  of  Whitehall, 
so  the  king  was  led  out  to  it  through  one  of  the  windows 
of  the  banquet  room.  There  was  a  great  throng  present, 
but  the  people  were  kept  at  a  distance,  and  drums  were 
beaten  when  the  king  began  his  last  speech.  But  even  on 
the  scaffold  Charles  behaved  in  the  same  gentle  way,  and 
after  saying  that  he  had  always  done  what  he  considered 
right,  and  that  his  only  crime  was  to  have  consented 
to  Strafford's  execution,  he  prepared  to  die.  The  last 
word  the  king  uttered  was,  "  Remember,"  which  he  ad- 
dressed to  Juxon.  A  few  moments  later  the  executioner 
held  up  the  king's  head,  saying,  "  This  is  the  head  of  a 
traitor,"  and  all  the  people  burst  into  tears. 

No  one  has  ever  known  exactly  to  what  the  mysterious 
word  "remember"  referred,  because  Juxon  would  never 
tell ;  but  it  is  generally  supposed  that  Charles  reminded 
his  chaplain  to  be  sure  to  tell  his  son  never  to  avenge  his 
death,  but  to  forgive  the  men  who  had  condemned  him. 

As  most  of  the  king's  family  were  abroad,  they  suffered 
no  harm.  But  the  two  children  who  had  seen  their  father 
just  before  his  death  were  sent  to  learn  a  trade.  One  of 
them,  the  little  princess,  died  of  grief  for  her  father,  but 
Cromwell  finally  took  pity  upon  little  Prince  Henry  and 
sent  him  over  to  his  mother  in  France. 


269 


XC,    THE    ROYAL   OAK. 

A  FEW  days  after  the  execution  of  Charles  L,  Parlia- 
ment said  that  as  there  was  no  king  in  England, 
there  should  be  no  nobility,  and  therefore  no  House  of 
Lords.  England  was  now  a  republic  instead  of  a  mon- 
archy, and  the  new  seal  of  the  state,  or  Commonwealth  of 
England,  bore  the  inscription  :  **  The  first  year  of  freedom, 
by  God's  blessing  restored,  1648.." 

But  while  all  the  Puritan  party  said  the  monarchy  was 
at  an  end,  the  PvOyalist  party  claimed  that  since  Charles  I. 
was  dead,  his  son  Charles  H.  was  King  of  England.  The 
Scotch  Parliament,  which  had  had  no  share  in  the  king's 
execution,  promised  to  be  true  to  Charles  H.  if  he  would 
only  swear  to  respect  their  Covenant. 

In  Ireland,  also,  all  the  Catholics  were  in  favour  of 
Charles.  They  rebelled  against  the  Commonwealth,  but 
Cromwell  immediately  set  out  to  subdue  them.  He  car- 
ried on  the  war  with  such  cruelty,  sparing  neither  man, 
woman,  nor  child,  that  the  mere  name  of  Englishman  be- 
came a  terror  to  the  Irish. 

While  Cromwell  was  thus  busy  in  Ireland,  Charles  II. 
liad  come  over  to  Scotland,  where  the  people  rose  up  to 
help  him  recover  his  throne.  Cromwell,  hearing  of  this, 
left  his  chief  officer,  Ireton,  in  Ireland.  Then,  crossing  the 
Irish  Sea,  he  marched  over  the  border,  defeated  the  Scotch 
troops  at  Dunbar,  and  moved  on  to  Edinburgh. 

The  Royalists,  taking  advantage  of  this,  boldly  invaded 
England,  where  they  expected  that  many  people  would 
join  them.      But  Cromwell,  marching  rapidly   southward 


270 

again,  surprised  their  army  at  Worcester  (woos'ter).  The 
CavaHers  were  routed,  and  King  Charles  sought  safety  in 
flight.  He  was  in  great  danger,  for  Cromwell's  soldiers 
were  scattered  all  over  the  country,  looking  for  him. 
Charles's  few  followers  soon  saw  that  their  only  chance  of 
safety  lay  in  separating  and  escaping  in  disguise. 

The  young  king,  therefore,  went  to  the  house  of  a  farmer 
named  Penderell,  at  Bos'co-bel,  and,  telling  the  man  who 
he  was,  begged  his  help.  Although  this  farmer  knew  that 
he  was  risking  his  life  in  befriending  the  king,  he  gave 
Charles  a  suit  of  his  own  clothes  and  cut  off  his  long  hair. 
Then,  hearing  that  search  parties  were  in  the  neighbour- 
hood, he  led  the  king  through  a  forest  to  a  field  in  the 
midst  of  which  grew  a  very  bushy  oak  tree, 

Penderell  helped  Charles  to  climb  up  and  hide  in  the 
branches  of  the  oak.  Here  they  staid  all  day,  the  weary 
king  resting  against  the  farmer,  who,  seeing  his  royal 
charge  had  fallen  asleep,  held  him  tight  lest  he  should  fall. 
While  they  were  thus  concealed  in  the  Royal  Oak,  a 
party  of  soldiers  rode  directly  under  the  tree,  talking  of 
Charles  and  of  the  reward  they  soon  hoped  to  win. 

During  the  next  six  weeks  Charles  wandered  about  from 
place  to  place,  in  different  disguises,  trying  to  reach  the 
seashore  and  find  a  boat  in  which  to  escape  to  France. 
All  through  those  weary  weeks  the  royal  fugitive  was 
helped  first  by  one  person  and  then  by  another. 

We  are  told  that  more  than  forty  persons,  and  most  of 
them  very  poor,  knew  who  he  was  and  helped  him,  al- 
though they  ran  great  risks  and  could  have  earned  a  large 
reward  by  betraying  him.  After  much  tramping  and 
many  adventures,  Charles  came  to  the  house  of  a  Royalist 


271  ^ 

named  Lane.  Here  he  assumed  the  Hvery  of  a  servant, 
and  soon  rode  away  as  the  attendant  of  Miss  Lane,  who 
had  a  permit  to  journey  to  Leith  with  her  servant. 

In  this  disguise  Charles  passed  right  through  the  ParHa- 
mentary  troops,  and  came  to  an  inn,  where  the  liostler 
recognized  but  did  not  denounce  him.  In  another  inn, 
the  king  roused  the  cook's  suspicions  because  he  did  not 
know  how  to  turn  tlie  meat  to  roast  it  properly  ;  but  he 
disarmed  this  man's  anger  by  saying  they  were  too  poor 
at  his  house  to  have  any  roast  meat. 

A  landlord  once  recognized  him,  and  begged  that  he 
and  his  wife  might  receive  the  titles  of  lord  and  lady  as 
soon  as  the  king  came  to  the  throne.  Thus  wandering 
from  place  to  place,  Charles  finally  reached  Shoreham, 
where,  embarking  upon  a  little  vessel,  he  bribed  the  cap- 
tain to  take  him  over  to  France. 

tvo^i^OO 


XCI.    THE    COMMONWEALTH. 

WHILE  Charles  was  thus  making  his  escape.  General 
Monk  subdued  Scotland,  General  Ireton  reduced 
Ireland,  and  Admiral  Blake  began  to  punish  the  Dutch, 
who  had  made  trouble  for  the  English  vessels.  You  see. 
Parliament  had  decreed  that  no  ships  of  other  nations 
should  bring  the  products  of  foreign  countries  to  English 
ports.  The  Dutch,  who  had  long  made  much  money  by  carry- 
ing goods  to  England,  did  not  like  this  Navigation  Act; 
so  they  declared  war,  and  their  admiral.  Van  Tromp,  after 
sundry   checks,  won   a  victory   over  Admiral   Blake   and 


272 

forced  him  to  retreat.  The  Dutch  admiral  felt  so  proud 
of  this  victory  that  he  sailed  up  and  down  the  Channel 
with  a  broom  tied  to  the  top  of  his  mast,  boasting  that  he 
had  swept  the  seas  clean. 

But  for  all  his  boasting,  he  was  soon  defeated  by  Blake, 
and  a  treaty  was  made  in  which  it  was  settled  that  all 
foreign  vessels  should  recognize  England's  power  by 
lowering  their  flags  thrice  in  salute  when  they  met  an 
English  ship. 

In  the  meantime  the  affairs  of  the  state  were  not  going 
on  satisfactorily.  Cromwell,  seeing  that  the  Long  Parlia- 
ment, after  sitting  thirteen  years,  had  not  done  much  good, 
thought  it  time  to  dissolve  it ;  so  he  arose  in  the  hall  one 
day  and  suddenly  cried:  ''For  shame!  Get  you  gone! 
Give  place  to  honester  men.  You  are  no  longer  a  Parlia- 
ment. The  Lord  has  done  with  you.  He  has  chosen  other 
instruments  for  carrying  on  his  work." 

At  a  stamp  of  his  foot,  his  soldiers  came  filing  In  to 
drive  the  members  out.  Then  Cromwell  bade  them  re- 
move the  mace,  the  emblem  of  Parliament's  power,  and, 
locking  the  doors,  he  carried  away  the  keys.  Shortly 
after  that  he  called  a  new  Parliament,  composed  mainly  of 
Independents,  and  as  the  principal  orator  was  named  Praise- 
God  Barebone,  this  Parliament  is  often  called  Barebone's 
Parliament. 

This  new  assembly  gave  Cromwell  the  title  of  Protector 
of  the  Commonwealth.  He  decided  that  in  the  present 
state  of  affairs  England  was  best  under  military  rule.  So 
he  dismissed  Parliament,  raised  taxes  whenever  he  pleased, 
and  had  all  the  power  of  a  king,  although  he  refused  to 
accept  the  crown  when  it  was  offered  to  him. 


{21Z) 


2  74 


But  although  Cromwell  proved  so  able  a  ruler  that  he 
forced  all  the  foreign  countries  to  respect  England,  and 
made  the  country  very  prosperous,  he  was  not  happy. 
He  knew  that  the  Catholics  and  Royalists  hated  him,  and 
was  in  constant  dread  of  being  killed.  He  wore  armour 
under  his  clothes,  never  slept  two  nights  in  succession  in 
the  same  room,  always  had  loaded  pistols  at  hand,  and 
never  came  back  to  Whitehall  bv  the  road  bv  which  he 
left  it.  Besides,  he  knew  that  the  people  he  loved  most, 
his  wife  and  daughters,  did  not  approve  of  his  having 
allowed  Charles  I.  to  be  killed,  or  of  his  refusing  to  give 
back  the  throne  to  Charles  H. 

During  his  short  rule  Cromwell  won  the  city  of  Dunkirk 
and  the  island  of  Ja-mai'ca  from  Spain ;    he  subdued  the 


Westminster  Abbey. 


pirates  at  Tu^nis  and  Trip'o-li ;  and,  best  of  all,  he  insisted 
that  every  one  should  have  the  right  to  worship  as  he  chose. 


275 

The  Jews  were  therefore  allowed  to  come  back  into  Eng- 
land, whence  they  had  been  driven  by  Edward  I. 

Other  great  impro\'ements  wliicli  took  place  during  the 
rule  of  Cromwell  were  the  circulation  of  the  first  news- 
papers and  the  development  of  a  better  postal  service. 
Letters  were  now  carried  from  point  to  point  on  certain 
fixed  days,  instead  of  waiting  until  the  postman  thought 
there  were  enough  to  make  it  worth  while;  and  all  mem- 
bers of  Parliament  were  allowed  the  right  of  sending  as 
many  letters  as  they  chose,  free  of  charge,  a  privilege 
which  was  called  "  franking." 

Although  Oliver  Cromwell  was  Protector  of  England 
for  only  five  years,  he  is  one  of  the  most  famous  men  of 
the  country  whose  welfare  he  had  close  at  heart.  He  did 
so  much  for  England  that  he  was  granted  the  right  of 
naming  his  successor.  He  therefore  said  that  his  son 
Richard  should  govern  after  him.  Soon  after  this  he  died 
of  ague,  in  1658,  and  was  buried  in  Westminster  Abbey, 
where  England's  greatest  statesmen,  men  of  letters,  and 
men  of  science  have  beautiful  monuments,  as  well  as  most 
of  the  English  kings. 

o-o^QcJoo 


XCn.   THE    RESTORATION. 

OLIVER  CROMWELL  was,  as  you  have  seen,  a  very 
remarkable  man ;  but  great  as  he  is  in  histor}%  his 
secretary  Milton  is  even  greater  than  he.  This  man  was 
a  Puritan  of  great  genius,  and  so  very  diligent  that  he 
spent  all  his  time  in  study.  When  only  a  college  student, 
he  wrote  a  beautiful  poem  called  "  Ode  on  the  Nativity," 

STO.  OF  ENG.  — 18 


and  after  a  busy  life  and  much  hard  work,  he  spent  his 
old  age  in  writing  "  Paradise  Lost,"  one  of  the  greatest 
poems  in  the  English  language. 

Although  he  had  become  blind,  Milton  would  not  cease 
to  work  ;  so  his  daughters  sat  by  him,  reading  aloud  learned 
works  in  Latin  and  Greek.  But  thev  could  not  under- 
stand  these  books,  for  their  father  said  that  "  one  tongue 
was  enough  for  a  woman,"  and  would  not  let  them  study 
more.  Milton's  poem  was  published  about  nine  years  after 
Cromwell  died,  and  about  seven  before  the  poet's  death. 

Richard  Cromwell  was  very  unlike  his  father,  and  un- 
willingly accepted  the  office  of  protector.  Seeing  that 
the  people  were  dissatisfied  under  his  mild  rule,  he  resigned 
at  the  end  of  a  few  months,  leaving  the  country  in  a  very 
bad  state,  for  both  Parliament  and  the  army  wanted  to  rule. 

As  Cromwell's  strong  hand  was  no  longer  there  to  hold 
the  reins  of  government,  General  Monk,  the  most  capable 
man  in  the  country,  decided  that  England  would  be  better 
ofif  under  the  rule  of  her  rightful  king.  He  therefore  came 
down  from  Scotland  with  his  army,  dismissed  the  Parlia- 
ment, and  called  for  a  new  election. 

Most  of  the  members  of  the  new  Parliament  were  so 
strongly  in  favour  of  law  and  order  that  when  General 
Monk  proposed  that  Charles  should  come  back,  the  plan 
was  greatly  approved  not  only  by  the  House  of  Commons, 
but  also  by  the  House  of  Lords,  which  was  now  assembled 
for  the  first  time  since  the  death  of  Charles  L  A  message 
was  sent  to  Charles  in  Holland,  and  he  immediatelv  set 
out  for  England,  where  he  landed  in  May,  1660.  General 
Monk  came  to  Dover  to  meet  him,  and  escorted  him  to 
London,  where  he   was  crowned  in  Westminster  Abbey. 


277 

This  return  of  the  royal  family  is  known  as  the  Restora- 
tion ;  for  now  the  crown  was  restored  to  the  rightful  heir. 

All  the  people  received  the  pleasant-mannered,  good- 
natured  king  with  great  delight,  and  as  he  encouraged  them 
to  resume  amusements  which  the  strict  Puritans  had  con- 
sidered sinful,  he  is  known  as  the  Merry  Monarch,  and  the 
country  was  again  called  "  Merry  England." 

Charles  pleased  everybody,  at  first,  by  promising  that 
every  one  should  be  pardoned,  except  the  sixty  men  who 
had  taken  it  upon  themselves  to  sentence  his  father  to 
death,  and  who  were  knowni  as  the  regicides,  or  king  killers. 
Some  of  these  were  already  dead,  and  others  had  left  the 
country  ;  so  only  a  few  were  captured  and  put  to  death. 

Next,  the  body  of  Cromwell  w'as  taken  out  of  its  grave 
and  hung  at  Tyburn,  with  those  of  a  few  other  dead  regi- 
cides. But  Richard  Cromwell,  who  had  left  England,  was 
soon  allowed  to  come  back  and  end  his  days  in  peace  there. 

With  the  return  of  the  king  the  Church  of  England  was 
restored;  but  Charles  did  not  follow  Cromwell's  wise 
example  and  allow  every  one  to  worship  as  he  pleased. 
Charles  generally  allowed  his  friend  the  Earl  of  Clarendon 
to  govern  for  him.  He  tried,  .however,  to  force  even  the 
Scotch  to  become  members  of  the  Church  of  England, 
although  he  had  once  promised  to  respect  their  Covenant. 
They  resisted  fiercel}',  held  secret  meetings  in  the  moun- 
tains, and,  when  surprised  by  the  king's  troops,  died  like 
mart}'rs  rather  than  give  up  their  mode  of  worship.  Ex- 
asperated by  the  cruel  treatment  inflicted  by  Clav'er-house, 
commander  of  the  king's  troops,  the  Covenanters  finally 
rebelled,  and  for  many  years  stoutly  resisted  every  attempt 
to  force  them  to  worship  as  the  king  w^ished. 


278 


XCIII.    PLAGUE    AND    FIRE. 

WHEN  Charles  came  to.  the  throne  he  was  already 
thirty  years  old.  During  his  exile  he  had  met  and 
loved  a  woman  whom  he  secretly  married.  This  marriage, 
however,  was  not  according  to  the  law,  so  it  was  decided 
that  the  king's  son,  the  Duke  of  Monmouth,  could  never 
inherit  the  crown. 

The  legal  heir  to  the  crown  was  the  king's  brother 
James,  a  Roman  Catholic,  and  it  was  feared  that  he  would 
try  to  make  England  a  Catholic  country.  As  many  of  the 
people  had  not  forgotten  the  troubles  which  such  an  at- 
tempt had  brought  about  in  the  days  of  Queen  Mary,  they  . 
begged  Charles  to  marry  again,  hoping  he  would  have  a 
legitimate  son  to  succeed  him. 

After  much  hesitation,  Charles  finally  chose  Catherine 
of  Bra-gan^za,  daughter  of  the  King  of  Portugal.  She 
was  very  rich,  and  besides  a  great  deal  of  money,  gave  her 
husband  the  city  of  Tan-gier'  in  Africa,  and  that  of  Bom- 
bay' in  India,  where  the  English  had  been  trading  ever 
since  the  year  1600.  The  new  queen  was  a  strict  Catho- 
lic, brought  up  in  a  convent,  and  she  was  so  shocked  by 
the  free  manners  of  the  ladies  and  gentlemen  at  her  hus- 
band's court  that  she  lived  a  very  quiet  and  retired  life. 

It  was  not  the  same  with  Charles  II.  He  lived  a  gay 
life,  and  set  such  a  very  bad  example  for  his  people  that 
he  did  a  great  deal  of  harm.  The  Puritans  were  shocked 
by  his  lack  of  principle,  and  those  who  had  fought  for  him 
were  pained  by  his  ingratitude.  For,  out  of  all  who  at 
such  peril  and  self-sacrifice  had  aided  him  in  his  escape, 


279 

the  only  person  whom  he  ever  rewarded  was  the  farmer 
who  spent  a  day  with  him  in  the  Royal  Oak. 

ThrouQ"hout  Charles's  rei"n  there  were  many  troubles 
about  religious  matters,  and  soon  there  came  a  calamit}- 
which  the  Puritans  said  was  sent  to  punish  the  king  for 
his  sins.  This  was  the  plague,  a  disease  which  started  in 
the  East  and  spread  rapidly  over  Europe.  It  raged  every- 
where, but  nowhere  worse  than  in  London.  Whole  families 
died  in  a  few  days;  and  while  the  rich  fled  into  the  coun- 
try, hoping  to  escape  contagion,  the  poor  had  to  stay  in 
the  city,  where  many  who  did  not  die  of  the  plague  per- 
ished of  hunger.  No  trading  was  done,  grass  grew  in  the 
streets,  and  almost  every  house  bore  a  cross  and  the  words, 
"  God  have  mercy  upon  us,"  rudely  marked  on  the  door, 
to  show  that  it  was  plague-stricken.  Twice  a  day  heavy 
carts  rumbled  along  the  deserted  streets  to  bear  away  the 
dead.  Their  passage  was  heralded  by  the  ringing  of  a 
bell,  and  the  dismal  cry,  '*  Bring  out  your  dead,  bring  out 
your  dead." 

It  is  estimated  that  two  thirds  of  the  inhabitants  of 
London  died  of  this  plague.  The  houses,  mostly  built  of 
wood  and  badly  ventilated,  could  not  be  properly  cleaned  ; 
so  a  second  calamity,  a  great  fire  which  destroyed  thirteen 
thousand  houses  the  next  year,  proved  a  blessing  in  dis- 
guise by  destroying  the  germs  of  the  plague. 

The  flames  swept  onward  so  fast  that  people  barely 
escaped  with  their  lives,  and  a  great  deal  of  property  was 
lost.  In  spite  of  the  efforts  n:?kde  even  by  King  Charles 
and  his  brother,  the  flames  raged  on  and  on,  until  they 
consumed  the  old  Church  of  St.  Paul's. 

When   the   fire  was   finally  put  out,  a  large  part  of  the 


28o 


city  had  been  burned  down  and  had  to  be  entirely  re- 
built. This  led  to  a  great  improvement;  for  the  streets 
were  now  made  wider,  the  houses  more  comfortable,  and 
the  great  English  architect,  Sir  Christopher  Wren,  made 
plans  for  thirty-five  new  churches  and  entirely  rebuilt 
St.  Paul's. 


-,>oia8<o-o- 


XCIV.    THE    MERRY    MONARCH. 

THE  Puritans,  who  did  not  approve  of  any  kind  of 
amusement,  said  that  the  plague  and  the  fire  had  been 
sent  to  punish  the  people  for  following  the  king's  gay  ex- 
ample. For  a  time,  therefore,  the  calamity  had  the  effect 
of  sobering  both   people   and   king ;    but   the   latter  soon 


Sir  Edwin  Landxeer.  Artist. 


King  Charles  Spaniels. 


resumed  his  merry  life,  and  thought  more  of  His  pet  dogs 
than  of  his  duty. 

All  the  money  voted  by  Parliament  was  spent  for  pleas- 
ure ;  and  as  those  sums  were  not  enough,  Charles  sold  Dun- 
kirk to  the  French,  three  years  before  the  great  plague. 


28l 


This  made  the  people  so  angry  that  they  accused  Claren- 
don of  being  a  poor  minister,  and  had  him  exiled. 

Clarendon  gone,  the  power  was  placed  chiefly  in  the 
hands  of  five  ministers,  who  formed  a  committee  called 
the  Ca-bar,  and,  strange  to  say,  the  letters  spelling  this 
word  were  also  the  initials  of  their  names.  The  Cabal 
made  England  begin  a  war  with  Holland,  and  closed  a 
secret  treaty  with  the  French  king,  who  paid  large  sums 
to  Charles  to  get  his  help  against  the  Protestants.  But 
when  it  had  ruled  six  years,  better  ministers  took  its  place, 
and  called  a  new  Parliament,  to  restore  order. 

The  new  Parliament  found  out  that  Charles  favoured 
the  Roman  Catholics ;  and  as  he  and  Catherine  had  no 
children,  and  his  brother  James  (a  firm  Catholic)  was  his 
heir,  they  again  began  to  fear  that  an  attempt  would  be 
made  to  force  all  England  to  return  to  the  old  faith.  The 
majority  were  so  opposed  to  this  that  they  made  a  law 
that  no  one  should  hold  a  government  position  until  he 
swore  to  uphold  the  reformed  faith. 

Many  Catholic  officers  consequently  gave  up  their  posi- 
tions ;  and  as  the  Quakers  refused  to  take  any  oath,  because 
their  religion  allowed  them  only  to  say  "  yea  "  and  **  nay," 
they  too  could  hold  no  offices.  In  fact,  many  of  them 
were  thrown  into  prison,  while  others  left  the  country  and 
went  to  settle  in  the  New  World. 

The  same  Parliament  also  passed  the  Ha'be-as  Cor'pus 
act,  whereby  a  prisoner  could  secure  an  immediate 
hearing  before  a  judge  as  to  whether  he  was  rightfully 
held  for  trial.  This  was  a  great  improvement ;  for  until 
then  the  king  had  sometimes  imprisoned  people  without 
any  trial,  and  kept  them  captive  as   long   as  he  pleased. 


282 


At  this  time  the  whole  country  was  divided  into  two 
large  parties.  One  was  composed  of  fierce  Protestants, 
called  Whigs.  They  w^ere  willing  to  let  Charles  reign  as  long 
as  he  had  Protestant  ministers,  but  said  that  his  brother 
James,  the  Duke  of  York,  should  never  come  to  the  throne. 
It  was  to  please  this  party  that  Charles  married  his  two 
nieces,  Mary  and  Anne,  the  daughters  of  James,  to  Prot- 
estant princes.  But,  while  the  Whigs  approved  of  these 
marriages,  the  Catholic  or  royal  party,  who  were  called 
Tories,  did  not  like  them. 

The  quarrels  between  the  Tories  and  the  Whigs  led  to 
sundry  plots.  One  of  them,  the  Rye  House  Plot,  was 
discovered,  and  many  people  were  executed,  because  they 
were  accused  not  only  of  wishing  to  prevent  James  from 
ever  being  king,  but  also  of  wanting  to  murder  Charles.  As 
the  discontent  in  the  country  still  increased,  James  now 
proposed  some  harsh  measures.  But  Charles,  knowing  the 
English  would  rebel, quietly  answered  :  "Brother,  I  am  too 
old  to  go  again  on  my  travels;  you  may,  if  you  choose." 

Things  might  have  grown  worse  had  not  the  Merry 
Monarch  suddenly  been  stricken  with  apoplexy,  and  died 
at  the  age  of  fifty- five.  His  reign  is  famous  on  account 
of  the  writings  of  the  poets  Milton  and  Dryden,  and  of 
Daniel  De-foe',  who,  as  you  may  know,  wrote  an  account 
of  the  plague,  and  the  story  of  "  Robinson  Crusoe." 

Though  very  good-tempered,  Charles  was  neither  a 
good  nor  a  great  man.  He  was  far  more  fond  of  pleasure 
than  of  work,  and  his  promises  were  easily  made  and  bro- 
ken. One  of  his  courtiers,  who  knew  his  character  per- 
fectly, once  showed  him  the  following  verse  which  he  had 
written,  as  a  joke,  for  the  royal  tombstone ; 


283 

**  Here  lies  our  sovereign  lord  the  king, 
Whose  word  no  man  relies  on ; 
Who  never  said  a  foolish  tiling, 
Nor  ever  did  a  wise  one." 

Charles,  having  read  these  lines,  handed  them  back  to  the 
author,  saying  with  a  smile,  "  The  last  part  may  be  very 
true;  for  my  words  are  my  own,  but  my  doings  are  my 
ministers'."  This,  however,  was  no  real  excuse;  for 
Charles,  being  king,  was  responsible  for  his  people,  and 
should  at  least  have  tried  to  do  his  best  for  them. 


-t>o>S><oo- 


XCV.    JAMES    DRIVEN    OUT    OF    ENGLAND. 

CHARLES  was  succeeded  by  his  brother  James,  who, 
as  you  know,  was  not  very  welcome  to  many  of  the 
English,  because  he  was  a  Catholic.  Still,  they  allowed 
him  to  reign,  for  they  hoped  he  would  not  rule  long,  as  he 
was  already  more  than  fifty  years  of  age,  and  they  knew 
that  his  daughters,  Mary  and  Anne,  who  would  succeed 
him,  had  both  married  Protestants. 

James  was  very  different  from  his  brother,  and,  although 
earnest,  was  so  far  from  clever  that  a  courtier  once  said: 
"  Charles  coidd  see  things  if  he  would;  James  would  if  he 
couldy  The  new  king  had  wandered  about  a  great  deal 
during  his  youth,  and  at  the  Restoration  he  had  become 
an  admiral.  We  are  told  he  did  good  service  at  sea,  and 
that  he  invented  the  system  of  signalling  with  flags.  In 
reward  for  his  services  in  the  Dutch  war,  he  had  received 
the  province  and  city  of  New  Am'ster-dam,  whose  name  he 
changed  to  New  York. 


284 

When  James's  first  wife  died,  leaving  two  daughters,  he 
married  a  young  and  beautiful  ItaHan  princess  called  Marie 
d'Este  (das'te).  She  was  much  younger  than  he,  a  very 
ardent  Catholic,  and  greatly  disliked  by  the  EngHsh  be- 
cause she  tried  to  meddle  in  state  affairs. 

On  coming  to  the  throne,  James  II.  promised  to  support 
the  Church  of  England  and  to  govern  the  country  by  the 
laws  of  the  realm.  But,  three  days  later,  he  broke  both 
these  promises  by  sending  a  messenger  to  the  pope  and 
by  raising  money  without  the  permission  of  Parliament. 
The  people,  seeing  that  he  could  no  more  be  trusted  than 
the  other  Stuarts,  were  very  angry,  and  many  of  the  Prot- 
estants joined  the  Duke  of  Monmouth,  who  landed  in 
England  to  demand  the  throne. 

Monmouth  claimed  the  throne  as  Charles's  son,  and 
accused  James  of  setting  fire  to  London,  of  poisoning  King 
Charles,  and  of  many  other  crimes  of  which  he  was  not 
guilty.  Some  of  the  English  pretended  to  believe  what 
Monmouth  said,  and  joined  in  the  rebellion.  It  burst  out 
in  Scotland  under  the  Duke  of  Ar-gyle',  and  in  England 
under  the  Duke  of  Monmouth.  Both  dukes  were  defeated, 
however.  When  Monmouth  fell  into  James's  hands,  after 
the  battle  of  Sedgemoor,  he  begged  pitifully  for  mercy,  but 
he  and  Argyle  were  both  beheaded. 

James  was  very  revengeful,  so  he  sent  a  cruel  officer 
named  Kirk,  and  a  still  more  heartless  judge  named  Jef- 
freys, to  try  and  to  punish  all  the  rebels.  Kirk  and  his 
"  lambs,"  as  he  jokingly  called  his  soldiers,  massacred  all 
who  had  borne  arms,  while  Jeffreys  sentenced  to  death 
men  and  women  who  had  only  given  water  or  food  to 
fugitive  rebels.      He  was  so  cruel  that  he  condemned  both 


285 

innocent  and  guilty,  and  his  rule  has  been  called  the  Eng- 
lish Reign  of  Terror,  or  the  Bloody  Assizes. 

Urged  by  the  queen  and  by  other  bad  advisers,  James 
not  only  showed  no  mercy  to  the  rebels,  but  rewarded 
Jeffreys  for  his  cruelty  by  making  him  chancellor.  Then 
he  began  to  remove  Protestants  from  their  offices,  so  as  to 
put  Roman  Catholics  in  their  places.  When  six  of  the 
bishops  refused  to  read  a  declaration  which  annulled  all 
the  laws  against  Catholics,  he  sent  them  to  the  Tower. 
But,  owing  to  the  Habeas  Corpus  Act,  he  had  to  let  them 
go  when  the  judges  said  they  were  guilty  of  no  crime. 

All  these  things  were  borne  rather  patiently  by  his  sub- 
jects, who  comforted  themselves  with  the  thought  that  as 
oon  as  James  died  his  Protestant  daughters  would  succeed 
him.  But  all  their  hopes  were  blasted  when  they  heard 
that  the  queen  had  given  birth  to  a  son,  who  would,  of 
course,  be  brought  up  a  Catholic  and  inherit  the  crown. 

This  was  more  than  the  Protestants  could  bear,  so  they 
sent  word  to  William  of  Orange,  the  husband  of  Mary,  to 
come  over  and  deliver  them  from  a  Roman  Catholic  rule. 
The  nobles  and  Princess  Anne  joined  in  this  petition;  and 
when  James  heard  that  his  favourite  daughter  was  against 
him,  he  cried:  "God  help  me!  My  own  children  have 
forsaken  me ! " 

The  people  were  so  angry  that  the  queen  hastily  fled 
with  the  baby  prince,  and  King  James,  fearing  lest  he 
should  lose  his  head  like  his  father,  soon  prepared  to  follow 
them  to  France.  He  slipped  out  of  the  palace  unnoticed, 
rowed  over  the  Thames,  into  whose  waters  he  flung  the 
great  seal,  and  went  to  Fav^er-sham,  whence  he  hoped  to 
sail  across  the  Channel.      But  he  was  recognized  by  some 


286 


E.  M.  Ward,  Artist. 


James  II.  receiving  the  News  of  the  Landing  of  William  of  Orange. 

fishermen  there,  who  brought  him  back  to  London.  The 
king  was  more  frightened  than  ever  ;  but  his  daughter  Mary, 
thinking  it  best  that  James  should  seem  to  flee  from  Eng- 
land of  his  own  accord,  gave  orders  that  the  soldiers 
should  guard  him  carelessly.  James  then  contrived  to  es- 
cape, and  joined  his  wife  and  son  in  France,  where  the 
king  gave  him  the  palace  of  St.  Germain  (saN  zher-maN') 
for  his  abode. 


-o-O^QK^OO- 


XCVI.    A    TERRIBLE    MASSACRE. 


JAMES  gone,  the  crown  was  offered  to  William  and 
Mary  by  Parliament.  A  new  charter  was  made,  in 
which,  besides  the  laws  of  the  Magna  Charta  granted  by 
John,  and  those  of  the  Petition  of  Right  granted  by  Charles, 


28; 

were  those  called  the  Act  of  Settlement.  Among  other 
things,  this  act  decided  that  the  crown  could  belong  only 
to  a  Protestant  ruler,  and  that  if  Mary,  Anne,  and  William 
all  died  without  children,  it  should  go  to  Sophia,  a  grand- 
daughter of  James  I.,  and  to  her  Protestant  descendants. 

The  change  of  government  which  gave  the  crown  to 
William  and  Mary  is  called  the  "  glorious  revolution  of 
1688;  "  and  it  was  glorious  not  only  because  it  took  place 
without  costing  a  drop  of  blood,  but  also  because  England, 
instead  of  being  ruled  by  a  tyrant,  was  to  be  governed  by 
its  own  laws,  and  thus  to  be  a  constitutional  monarchy. 

William  of  Orange  was  the  great-grandson  of  a  famous 
Dutch  hero  of  the  same  name,  and  grandson  of  Charles  I., 
King  of  England,  Although  weak  and  sickly,  he  was  a 
great  fighter  and  a  very  determined  man.  The  English  did 
not  like  him  much  at  first,  because  he  was  cold  and  re- 
served and  spoke  English  badly  ;  but  they  all  loved  the 
virtuous  Queen  Mary.  Her  excellent  example  was  soon 
followed  by  other  women,  who,  instead  of  gambling  and 
thinking  of  nothing  but  dress  and  amusement,  now  began 
to  delight  again  in  needlework  and  study. 

Although  most  of  the  Protestants  had  warmly  wel- 
comed William  and  Mary,  most  Catholics  had  remained 
faithful  to  James  ;  and  as  his  name  in  Latin  was  Ja-co'bus, 
they  were  called  Jac'ob-ites.  Besides,  the  Highlanders, 
as  the  Scotch  who  lived  in  the  northern  and  mountainous 
part  of  the  island  were  called,  were  so  loyal  to  the  old 
royal  family  that  for  a  time  they  refused  to  obey  William 
and  Mary. 

After  these  Highlanders  were  defeated,  an  edict  was 
published,  promising  full  pardon  to  all  rebels^  if  they  would 
only  take,  before  a  certain  day,  an  oath  to  be  faithful  to 


288 


the  new  rulers.  One  of  the  Highland  families,  or  clans, 
the  MacDon'alds,  by  mistake  failed  to  take  this  oath  in 
time;  so  their  enemies,  the  Campbells  (kam'elz),  got  an 
order  to  put  them  to  death.  Coming  to  the  valley  of 
Glen-coe'  as  if  they  were  friends,  and  tarrying  there  twelve 
days,  the  Campbells  suddenly  fell  upon  the  MacDonalds 
and  began  to  murder  them.  A  few  escaped  to  the  moun- 
tains, but  it  was  only  to  perish  of  hunger  and  cold,  not  far 
from  the  ruined  homes  where  they  had  once  been  happy. 

William  wanted  the  whole  kingdom  to  be  of  one  reli- 
gion ;  but  finally  he  granted  full  freedom  in  religious  mat- 
ters to  all  the  people.  The  church  was  therefore  mainly 
Anglican  in  England,  Presbyterian  in  Scotland,  and  Roman 
Catholic  in  Ireland,  and  so  it  still  remains  to-day. 

In  England  the  population  had  been  increased  by  the 
arrival  of  many  French  Protestants,  the  Huguenots,  who 
had  been  driven  out  of  France  in  1685,  when  the  king  re- 
called a  law  allowing  them  to  worship  as  they  pleased. 
These  industrious  Huguenots  began  to  work  at  their 
trades,  and  at  Spit'al-fields  they  set  up  the  first  English 
silk  manufactory. 

0-0^:®^  Oo 


XCVII.    WILLIAM'S    WARS. 

ALTHOUGH  the  Whigs  had  welcomed  William  III. 
/Y  and  Mary  II.,  King  James  had  kept  some  friends  in 
England.  These  did  not  believe,  as  did  most  of  the  Prot- 
estants, that  his  child  was  an  adopted  one  which  he  passed 
off  as  his  own  merely  to  make  sure  the  crown  should  not 
go  to  his  Protestant  daughters.      As  they  wanted  James 


289 

back,  he  came  with  a  small  French  army,  and  landed  in 
Ireland,  where  most  of  the  people  were  Catholics  and 
Jacobites.  He  first  tried  to  take  Lon'don-der-ry,  one  of 
the  few  Irish  towns  which  were  in  the  hands  of  William's 
party.  The  siege  lasted  one  hundred  and  five  days  ;  but  al- 
though the  people  suffered  untold  agonies  from  famine,  and 
ate  cats,  dogs,  rats,  and  old  leather,  the}/  would  not  }ield. 

Finally  an  English  vessel  with  provisions  was  sent  to 
Londonderry's  relief,  and  forced  its  way  through  the  en- 
emy's fleet.  Shortly  after  this  William  himself  came  over 
to  Ireland,  and  met  James  on  the  banks  of  the  Boyne. 
Here  William's  best  officer,  General  Schom'berg,  was  killed, 
and  William  himself  narrowly  escaped  a  like  fate. 

The  battle  raged  fiercely,  and  James,  who  was  watching 
it  from  afar,  kept  wringing  his  hands  and  crying,  **  Oh, 
spare  my  English  subjects!"  William,  having  already 
taken  part  in  many  battles,  showed  such  coolness  and 
courage  on  this  day  that  he  won  a  great  victory.  He  also 
won  the  admiration  of  the  Irish  ;  for  when  taunted  by  an 
English  soldier,  an  Irish  captive  promptly  said:  "Ex- 
change kings  with  us,  and  we  will  fight  you  again." 

James  in  the  meantime  fled  from  the  battlefield  of 
Boyne,  and  did  not  draw  rein  until  he  came  to  a  place  of 
safety.  Here,  in  answer  to  a  question  put  to  him  by  an 
Irish  lady,  he  pettishly  said:  "  Madam,  your  countrymen 
have  fled."  "Yes,"  she  answered  promptly;  "but  I  see 
your  majesty  has  outstripped  them  all!" 

As  there  was  no  hope  for  him  in  Ireland,  James  went 
back  to  France  to  collect  new  troops.  The  French  fleet 
had  won  a  slight  victory  at  Beachy  Head,  but  it  was  de- 
feated later  on  by  the  Dutch  and  English  at  La  Hogue. 


290 

The  rebellion  in  Scotland  and  Ireland  being  quelled, 
William  left  Mary  in  England  to  govern  with  the  aid  of 
her  council,  and  went  back  to  Holland,  where  war  awaited 
him.  For  while  James  was  trying  to  recover  his  throne 
in  Ireland,  his  allies,  the  French,  were  making  war  against 
the  Protestants  in  Germany,  the  friends  of  the  Dutch. 

This  war  between  the  French  and  the  English  extended 
even  to  America,  where  it  was  known  as  King  William's 
War.  It  was  concluded,  however,  a  few  years  after  the  bat- 
tle of  La  Hogue,  by  the  treaty  of  Rys'wick  (1697),  wherein 
Louis  XIV.  recognized  William  and  Mary  as  rulers  of  Eng- 
land and  promised  never  to  help  the  Jacobites  again. 

Queen  Mary  having  died  of  smallpox,  William  now  be- 
came sole  king.  One  of  the  first  acts  of  Parliament  in 
his  reign  was  to  give  the  newspapers  full  freedom  and  allow 
them  to  say  anything  they  pleased,  a  privilege  which  had 
been  denied  them  until  then. 

When  James  II.  died,  the  French  king  broke  the  promises 
made  in  the  treaty  of  Ryswick ;  for  he  at  once  proclaimed 
James's  son  to  be  King  of  England,  under  the  name  of 
James  III.  But  the  English  remained  faithful  to  William, 
and  always  spoke  of  the  young  prince  as  the  Pretender, 
under  which  name  he  Is  best  known  in  history. 

The  English  soon  declared  war  against  France ;  for  not 
only  did  the  French  support  the  Pretender,  but  they  had 
also  placed  a  French  prince  upon  the  throne  of  Spain,  in 
spite  of  an  agreement  they  had  made  not  to  do  so.  Par- 
liament voted  large  sums  of  money  for  this  War  of  the 
Spanish  Succession,  and  William  was  eagerly  looking  for- 
ward to  taking  part  in  it,  when  he  was  thrown  from  his 
horse,  and  died  a  few  days  later  from  his  fall. 


291 


XCVIII.    THE    DUKE    OF    MARLBOROUGH. 

^  1  yTILLIAM  ni.  reigned  five  years  jointly  with  Mary 
y  y  and  eight  years  after  her  death.  Under  his  wise 
rule  English  law  and  liberty  made  great  progress,  and 
while  he  was  never  greatly  loved,  he  was  much  respected. 
He  was  a  stern,  silent,  but  good  and  earnest  man.  He 
loved  his  wife  dearly,  and  after  his  death  a  ring  contain- 
ing a  lock  of  her  hair  was  found  tied  to  his  arm. 

Besides  helping  the  country  to  become  strong  and  pros- 
perous,William  founded  two  great  institutions  —  the  Green- 
wich (gren'ij)  Hospital  for  sick  and  disabled  seamen,  and 
the  world- renowned  Bank  of  England. 

It  had  been  decided  by  Parliament  that  if  William  and 
Mary  died  without  children  the  crown  should  pass  to 
Anne,  the  second  daughter  of  James  H.  A  good,  gentle, 
and  kind-hearted  woman,  the  new  queen  was  not  well  edu- 
cated, nor  clever,  nor  handsome.  She  had  married  a  very 
insignificant  Protestant,  Prince  George  of  Denmark,  but  al- 
though they  had  many  children,  all  died  when  babies,  ex- 
cept one  son  who  lived  to  be  eleven. 

When  Queen  Anne  came  to  the  throne,  in  1702,  all  the 
preparations  had  been  made  to  carry  on  the  war  which  in 
Europe  was  called  the  **  War  of  the  Spanish  Succession," 
and  in  the  colonies  "  Queen  Anne's  War."  In  this  contest 
the  English,  Dutch,  and  Germans  banded  together  in  the 
Grand  Alliance,  to  punish  the  French  king,  Louis  XIV.,  for 
placing  his  grandson  upon  the  throne  of  Spain. 

The  Germans  were  commanded  by  Prince  Eugene;  but 
the  Dutch  and  English  forces  were  in  charge  of  the  Duke 

STO.   OF    ENG.  — 19 


292 

of  Marrbor-ough,  who  had  already  fought  under  James 
and  WilHam.  This  general,  who  never  lost  a  battle  or 
failed  to  take  a  town,  was  always  calm  and  deliberate,  form- 
ing a  great  contrast  to  the  impetuous  Prince  Eugene. 

One  day,  we  are  told,  when  a  council  of  war  was  called, 
Prince  Eugene  and  the  other  ofhcers  were  all  in  favour  of 
attacking  the  enemy  on  the  morrow,  but  Marlborough 
would  not  consent.  Prince  Eugene  argued  for  a  while, 
then  flew  into  a  passion,  taunted  Marlborough  with  coward- 
ice, and  finally  challenged  him  to  fight  a  duel.  But  the 
duke  remained  perfectly  cool,  refused  the  challenge,  and 
allowed  the  prince  to  depart  in  anger.  Early  the  next 
morningf,  however,  Marlborough  came  to  Prince  Eugene's 
tent  to  awake  him  and  bid  him  prepare  for  battle.  The 
prince  sprang  up  joyfully,  saying,  "  But  why  would  you 
not  consent  to  this  last  night?  " 

''  I  could  not  tell  you  my  determination  last  night," 
answered  Marlborough,  "  because  there  was  a  person 
present  who,  I  knew,  was  in  the  enemy's  interest  and 
would  betray  us.  I  do  not  doubt  we  shall  conquer,  and 
when  the  battle  is  over  I  will  be  ready  to  accept  your 
challenge." 

Prince  Eugene,  like  a  true  gentleman,  seeing  that  he 
had  been  in  the  wrong,  now  promptly  apologized  for  his 
passion  on  the  night  before ;  and  when  he  and  the  duke 
parted  amicably,  the  latter  said :  "  I  thought,  my  dear 
prince,  you  would  in  time  be  satisfied." 

This  strangely  assorted  couple  of  commanders  was  very 
successful,  and  although  the  French  tried  to  make  the  duke 
ridiculous  by  writing  a  long  ballad  about  him,  they  were 
thoroughly  beaten  in  the   four  battles  of  Blen^heim,  Ra- 


293 

millies  (rah-mee-yee'),  Ou'den-ar-de,  and  Malplaquet 
(mahl-plah-ka').  The  news  of  these  victories  was  received 
with  joy  in  England,  and  after  each  new  triumph  the  queen 
bestowed  some  new  reward  upon  her  brave  general. 

It  was  thus  that  Marlborough  received  the  Woodstock 
estate,  where  the  grateful  English  people  built  him  a  palace 
which  is  still  called  Blenheim,  in  memory  of  his  greatest 
victory.  He  also  received  the  Garter,  which  was  generally 
given  only  to  kings  or  princes,  and  large  sums  of  money. 
It  is  said  that  the  greater  part  of  these  gifts  were  be- 
stowed at  the  suggestion  of  his  wife.  Lady  Church'ill,  who 
was  Anne's  most  intimate  friend.  This  woman  w^as  very 
clever  and  imperious,  and  had  a  great  influence  over  the 
gentle  queen ;  but  she  became  so  proud  that  at  last  she 
treated  even  the  queen  with  scorn. 

After  patiently  submitting  to  all  Lady  Churchill's  caprices 
for  a  long  while,  Anne  finally  grew  very  tired  of  her.  She 
therefore  made  a  friend  of  her  lady  of  the  bedchamber, 
Mrs.  Masham,  and  sent  the  Duchess  of  Marlborough  away. 
The  gifts  bestowed  upon  the  duke  now  became  fewer;  but 
those  he  and  the  duchess  had  already  received  have  be- 
longed to  their  family  ever  since. 

The  Duke  of  Marlborough,  who  was  one  of  the  greatest 
generals  that  ever  lived,  and  one  of  England's  military 
heroes,  w^as  nevertheless  a  strange  mixture  of  all  that  was 
great  and  noble,  and,  alas!  of  all  that  was  mean  and  small. 
The  great  qualities  which  make  every  one  admire  him  were 
spoiled  by  the  fact  that  he  was  so  fond  of  money  that  he 
would  do  the  meanest  thincfs  to  increase  his  fortune.  Be- 
sides,  he  was  not  always  faithful  to  his  king,  and  did  not 
consider  his  promises  sacred. 


294 


XCIX.    THE    TAKING   OF    GIBRALTAR. 

WHILE  Marlborough  was  winning  glorious  victories 
for  his  country  in  the  north  of  Europe,  another 
English  commander,  Sir  George  Rooke,  carried  on  the  war 
in  Spain,  and  by  a  bold  move  became  master  of  Gibraltar, 
one  of  the  strongest  fortresses  in  the  world.  The  fort 
stands  on  a  huge  rock  at  the  entrance  of  the  Mediterra- 


Gibraltar. 


nean  Sea  ;  and  although  many  efforts  have  since  been  made 
to  recapture  it,  the  British  flag  still  floats  proudly  over  it. 
But  at  first  the  English  so  little  knew  the  value  of  this 
glorious  possession  that  Parliament  did  not  even  send  a 
vote  of  thanks  to  the  gallant  Sir  George  Rooke. 


295 

Shortly  after  the  taking  of  Gibraltar,  the  union  between 
Scotland  and  England  was  completed  by  arranging  that 
there  should  be  only  one  Parliament  for  both  countries. 
Since  I  707,  when  this  change  took  place,  Scotchmen  have 
had  seats  both  in  the  House  of  Lords  and  in  the  House 
of  Commons. 

All  through  the  reign  of  good  Queen  Anne  the  two 
political  parties,  Whigs  and  Tories,  were  constantly  quar- 
relling, yet  England  steadily  prospered.  The  queen  her- 
self took  very  little  part  in  the  government,  which  was  left 
almost  entirely  in  the  hands  of  her  ministers.  But  while 
all  England  was  rejoicing  over  the  victories  won  abroad, 
Anne  was  very  sad  ;  for  her  husband,  George  of  Denmark, 
became  ill  and  died.  He  had  taken  no  part  in  the  gov- 
ernment, and  he  was  so  uninteresting  that  Charles  H. 
once  cried  in  jest :  *'  I  have  tried  him  drunk  and  sober, 
and  there  is  nothing  to  him." 

Five  years  after  his  death,  the  War  of  the  Spanish  Suc- 
cession came  to  an  end,  and  peace  was  signed  at  U'trecht 
(17 13).  Louis  XIV.  again  promised  not  to  uphold  the 
Jacobites,  and  in  America  he  gave  up  all  claim  to  New- 
foundland, A-ca'di-a,  and  the  land  around  Hudson  Bay. 

Althoue^h  Anne  herself  was  not  a  clever  woman,  her 
time  is  almost  as  famous  in  literature  as  that  of  Elizabeth, 
because  so  many  noted  men  lived  then.  Among  them 
were  the  poet  Pope,  the  satirist  Swift,  and  Ad'di-son  and 
Steele,  the  great  writers  of  the  "  Tatler  "  and  "  Spectator," 
the  first  two  English  magazines.  That  is  why  in  literature 
you  will  find  this  epoch  called  the  Age  of  Queen  Anne. 

Parliament,  you  know,  had  decided  that  if  Anne  died 
without  leaving  children,  the  crown  should  go  to  Sophia, 


296 

the  granddaughter  of  James  I.  This  princess  had  married 
the  Elector  of  Han'o-ver,  and  had  always  hoped  to  be 
queen  ;  but  she  died  before  Anne,  so  the  crown,  which 
she  never  wore,  was  placed  upon  her  coffin. 

When  Queen  Anne  grew  very  ill,  and  her  ministers 
saw  she  was  about  to  die,  they  sent  word  to  Sophia's 
son  George,  the  Elector  of  Hanover,  to  be  ready  to  come 
over  to  England  at  any  moment,  to  take  possession  of 
the  throne.  Then,  as  soon  as  Anne  breathed  her  last, 
Parliament  proclaimed  George  King  of  Great  Britain. 

The  new  monarch  came  over  as  quickly  as  possible, 
though  this  was  not  very  fast,  for  travel  was  very  slow  in 
those  days.  He  was  met  and  welcomed  by  Marlborough 
and  by  the  Whigs,  who  were  then  in  power.  George  I. 
was  a  plain-mannered,  middle-aged  German  who  could 
speak  only  a  few  words  of  English.  He  was  a  good  busi- 
ness man ;  but  when  he  wanted  to  talk  with  his  prime 
minister  Wal'pole,  he  had  to  use  the  help  of  an  interpreter, 
or  else  speak  Latin,  the  only  language  that  they  both 
knew.  The  English,  however,  were  so  anxious  to  have  a 
Protestant  ruler  that  they  welcomed  George  and  applauded 
him  greatly  when  he  said :  ''  My  maxim  is  never  to  aban- 
don my  friends,  to  do  justice  to  all  the  world,  and  to  fear 
no  man." 

OO^^OO 

C.    THE    SOUTH    SEA    BUBBLE. 

WHEN   the  English  saw  that  George  I.  was  more 
attached  to  his  German  friends  than  to  any  one 
else,  they  were  not  pleased.      The  Tories,  many  of  whom 


297 

had  been  satisfied  as  long  as  a  Stuart  reigned,  were  in- 
dignant at  being  turned  out  of  their  offices  to  make  room 
for  Whigs.  They  began  to  side  with  the  Jacobites,  and 
said  that  the  crown  ought  to  be  given  to  the  Pretender. 

This  party  in  favour  of  the  Pretender  even  went  so  far 
as  to  proclaim  him  James  III.  of  England,  and  to  invite 
him  to  come  over  and  join  them.  Provided  with  a  small 
army  by  the  French  king,  the  Pretender  started  out;  but 
he  was  of  so  timid  a  disposition  that  he  inspired  his 
followers  with  no  confidence.  The  Jacobites  were  already 
disheartened  by  the  battle  of  Sher-iff-muir',  and  James 
soon  gave  up  the  contest  and  returned  to  France. 

The  Scotch,  ever  faithful  to  the  Stuarts,  had  been  the 
first  to  fight  for  the  Pretender,  and  it  was  they  who  suffered 
most  sorely.  A  few  of  the  nobles  were  beheaded,  although 
their  friends  tried  to  save  them  ;  but  many  were  merely 
banished  to  America,  where  the  colonies  were  steadily 
growing  in  importance. 

As  there  was  not  much  to  amuse  him  in  England, 
George  made  long  and  frequent  visits  to  Hanover,  leav- 
ing the  government  in  the  hands  of  his  ministers,  who  did 
all  they  could  to  make  Great  Britain  a  great  and  free 
country.  Little  by  little,  through  the  king's  neglect  of 
his  duty  and  through  his  absence  from  the  meetings  of  his 
ministers,  his  power  grew  less  while  theirs  grew  greater. 
The  ministers  came  to  be  very  important  officers  of  the 
government,  and  the  king  having  let  slip  his  control  over, 
them,  his  successors  could  never  fully  recover  it. 

For  several  years  England  was  greatly  excited  over 
the  South  Sea  Company's  plan  for  trading  with  Spanish 
America.      People  were  eager  to  get  rich  without  working, 


298 

so  they  gave  all  their  money  to  speculators,  who  promised 
them  ten  pounds  for  every  one  they  invested.  A  great 
many  of  the  English  foolishly  believed  this,  and  rashly 
gave  their  savings,  although  Walpole  constantly  warned 
them  that  the  plan  could  not  succeed.  At  that  time 
there  was  no  end  to  the  wild  schemes  in  which  money 
was  invested,  for  companies  were  even  formed  for  making 
salt  water  fresh,  and  for  changing  all  metals  to  gold!  As 
Walpole  had  predicted,  the  South  Sea  scheme  swelled 
like  a  bubble  and  —  burst.  Many  people  lost  all  they  had, 
and  complained  bitterly,  but  ever  since  then  the  English 
have  not  been  by  any  means  so  ready  to  rush  into  wild 
speculation. 

The  reign  of  George  I.  was  short  and  uneventful.  He 
was  king  for  thirteen  years,  and  died  of  apoplexy  in  his 
carriage,  on  his  way  to  Hanover,  whither  he  was  hastening 
back,  as  usual,  after  a  short  sojourn  in  England.  His 
eldest  son,  who  had  been  named  Prince  of  Wales  at  his 
coronation,  now  became  king,  under  the  title  of  George  H. 

George  H.  had  the  simple  tastes  of  his  father,  but  was 
less  clever  and  of  a  violent  temper.  He,  too,  preferred 
Hanover  to  England,  and  therefore  left  the  government 
to  Walpole. 

The  French  and  the  Spaniards,  meantime,  had  made 
a  secret  or  "family  compact"  to  help  each  other.  The 
Spanish  now  boarded  English  ships  under  pretext  of 
searching  for  their  countrymen  or  goods,  and  acted  very 
insolently.  This,  added  to  a  quarrel  about  the  bound- 
aries of  Georgia  and  Florida,  made  bad  feeling  between 
the  two  nations.  One  day  a  Spanish  captain  roughly 
tore  off  the  ear  of  an  Englishman  named  Jenkins.      Then, 


299 

flinging  the  fragment  In  the  man's  face,  he  bade  him 
carry  it  to  King  George  and  tell  the  latter  that  the 
Spaniards  would  treat  him  in  the  same  way  if  they 
caught  him. 

This  rude  message  proved  the  *'  last  straw,"  and  started 
the  "  War  of  Jenkins's  Ear,"  as  it  is  sometimes  called. 
But  although  the  fighting  began  between  England  and 
Spain,  a  quarrel  about  the  crown  of  Austria  soon  involved 
all  Europe  in  the  "  War  of  the  Austrian  Succession." 
Great  Britain,  Holland,  and  Austria  were  on  one  side, 
France,  Spain,  Prussia,  and  Bavaria  on  the  other,  and  the 
war  spread  even  to  the  colonies.  You  can  read  in  your 
United  States  histories  how  it  was  conducted  in  America, 
where  it  was  called  *' King  George's  War."  In  Europe 
it  was  carried  on  by  George  II.,  who  took  part  in  and  won 
the  battle  of  Det'ting-en.  But  the  British  did  not  win  any 
very  great  advantage,  and  after  eight  years  the  War  of 
the  Austrian  Succession  was  ended  by  the  peace  of  Aix— 
la-Cha-pelle'  (1748). 

o-0>S>^CK) 

CI.    BONNY    PRINCE    CHARLIE. 

TAKING  advantage  of  the  general  confusion  during 
the  War  of  the  Austrian  Succession,  Prince  Charles 
Edward,  the  son  of  the  Pretender,  tried  to  recover  the 
Stuarts'  throne. 

Aided  by  a  French  fleet,  he  attempted  to  land  in  Eng- 
land. Then,  undismayed  by  a  first  failure,  he  made  a 
second  venture,  and,  in  spite  of  a  tempest,  set  foot  on  the 
shores  of  Scotland.      Here  he  and  his  seven  followers  were 


300 

quickly  joined  by  Highlanders,  who,  as  the  king  and  army 
were  on  the  Continent,  got  possession  of  Edinburgh. 

Next,  the  gallant  Young  Pretender,  whom  the  Scotch- 
men affectionately  called  '*  Bonny  Prince  Charlie,"  won  a 
victory  at  Pres-ton-pans' ,  and,  having  secured  the  artillery, 
began  to  march  towards  London.  The  English,  in  terror, 
set  a  price  of  ^^30,000  upon  the  head  of  Prince  Charlie, 
and  quickly  collected  troops. 

In  the  meantime  most  of  Scotland  had  fallen  into  the 
hands  of  the  Jacobites.  Perceiving,  however,  that  the 
brave  Highlanders  could  not  fight  in  England  so  advan- 
tageously as  in  their  wild  mountains,  and  seeing  that  the 
English  force  was  three  times  greater  than  his  own,  Prince 
Charlie  retreated.  He  was  finally  overtaken  and  beaten 
at  Cul-lo'den.  Flight  saved  him  from  death  or  captivity, 
but  during  the  next  five  months  he  had  to  wander  from 
place  to  place.  He  had  many  narrow  escapes  during  that 
time,  and  suffered  greatly  from  cold  and  hunger,  although 
the  brave  Highlanders  did  all  they  could  for  him. 

At  last,  after  many  adventures,  Prince  Charlie  put  on 
the  dress  of  a  servant  girl,  and  pretended  to  be  the  maid 
of  a  young  Scotch  lady,  Flora  MacDonald,  who  volun- 
teered to  help  him.  With  her  aid,  he  passed  through  an 
English  squadron  and  reached  a  vessel  which  brought  him 
safely  to  the  Continent. 

At  the  peace  of  Aix-la-Chapelle  it  was  again  agreed 
that  the  French  should  no  longer  upliold  the  Stuarts.  The 
Pretender,  therefore,  left  France  and  went  to  Rome,  where 
he  and  his  two  sons  led  unworthy  lives.  Bonny  Prince 
Charlie,  who  had  been  so  brave  and  energetic  in  Scotland, 
now  became  an  idler  and  drunkard,  and  thus  forfeited  the 


30I 


esteem  of  all  respectable  people.  These  last  three  mem- 
bers of  the  Stuart  family  claimed  in  turn  the  titles  of 
James  III.,  Charles  III.,  and  Henry  IX.  They  were  buried 
in  Rome,  where  their  tomb,  the  work  of  the  celebrated 
sculptor  Ca-no'va,  bears  these  pompous  names. 


Alexander  Johnstone^  Artist. 

Flora  MacDonald's  Introduction  to  Prince  Charlie. 


The  Highlanders  who  had  so  bravely  helped  and  screened 
Prince  Charlie  were  punished  sorely  ;  for  the  victor  of  Cul- 
loden,  the  Duke  of  Cum'ber-land,  killed  so  many  of  them 
that  he  is  known  in  history  as  the  "  butcher." 

The  War  of  the  Austrian  Succession  was  barely  ended 
when  a  new  conflict  broke  out.  This  was  known  in  Europe 
as  the  "  Seven  Years'  War,"  and  in  America  as  the  "  French 
and  Indian  War."  Once  more  the  English  and  the  French 
were  opposed,  and  fought  wherever  they  met. 


(302) 


303 

The  British  minister  was  now  WilHam  Pitt,  who  is 
called  the  "Great  Commoner;  "  and  he  took  such  wise 
measures  that  victory  remained  with  the  British.  You 
know  how  they  took  Fort  Duquesne  (doo-kan' ;  which 
was  afterwards  named  Pittsburg,  in  honour  of  Pitt),  P^orts 
Ni-ag'a-ra  and  Ti-con-der-o'ga,  and  the  city  of  Que-bec'. 

Thus  the  British  gradually  became  masters  in  North 
America.  At  the  same  time  their  men  and  money  helped 
win  the  battle  of  Min'den,  and  Admiral  Hawke  bravely 
destroyed  the  French  fleet,  although  at  the  risk  of  losing 
his  life  and  ships  on  the  rocky  coast  of  Brittany. 


<>o>es;o<> 

CII.  THE  BLACK  HOLE  OF  CALCUTTA. 

THE  war  which  thus  raged  in  two  parts  of  the  world 
was  also  extended  to  a  third.  In  the  days  of  Queen 
Elizabeth,  the  English  had  formed  the  East  India  Com- 
pany and  had  begun  to  trade  in  Asia,  where  the  French 
had  preceded  them.  By  this  time  the  East  India  Com- 
pany had  several  trading  posts,  besides  the  city  of  Bom- 
bay, which  had  belonged  to  the  English  ever  since  the 
marriage  of  Charles  II.  Whenever  there  was  war  between 
France  and  England,  the  French  and  the  English  traders 
in  India  took  part  in  the  quarrel. 

Now,  when  the  Seven  Years'  War  began,  the  English 
had  a  small  station  at  Cal-cut'ta,  besides  their  settle- 
ments at  Ma-dras'  and  Bombay.  The  Viceroy  of  Ben- 
gal (ben-gawP),  an  ally  of  the  French,  suddenly  attacked 
the   Calcutta   station  with   a  large   force   of  natives.      Of 


304 

course  the  place  fell  into  his  hands,  and  he  ordered  one 
hundred  and  forty-six  English  prisoners  to  be  locked  up 
under  the  fort  in  a  small,  dark  room,  known  as  the  Black 
Hole. 

There  was  barely  standing  room  for  the  prisoners  in  this 
small  place ;  but  they  were  driven  in  at  the  sword's  point 
and  the  door  was  closed.  Now  you  know  that  people 
cannot  live  without  plenty  of  air;  and  as  soon  as  these 
captives  were  shut  in  they  began  to  gasp  for  breath,  for 
there  were  only  two  very  small  windows. 

It  is  frightfully  hot  in  India,  and  this  was  in  the  month 
of  June.  The  English  knew  that  they  must  die  in  a  few 
hours  if  they  were  not  released,  so  they  implored  the  sen- 
tinels to  go  and  ask  the  viceroy  to  put  them  elsewhere. 
But  the  soldiers  did  not  dare  disturb  their  master,  who 
was  resting;  and,  besides,  they  were  so  heartless  that  they 
laughed  as  they  watched  the  Englishmen  struggling  to 
reach  the  window  for  a  breath  of  air,  and  heard  them 
clamour  for  water.  This  was  given  to  them  in  very  small 
quantities,  but  only  in  exchange  for  large  sums  of  money. 

The  suffering  of  those  poor  people  cannot  be  described; 
and  when  the  door  was  finally  forced  open,  the  next  morn-' 
ing,  only  twenty-three   were   still   alive!      All  the  others 
—  one  hundred  and  twenty-three  —  had  perished  from  want 
of  air! 

When  this  news  reached  the  ears  of  the  English  traders, 
one  of  them,  Robert  Clive,  set  out  with  a  force  of  about  one 
thousand  Englishmen  and  two  thousand  natives,  whom  he 
had  drilled  until  they  made  good  soldiers.  With  this  small 
army,  he  defeated  the  Viceroy  of  Bengal's  sixty  thousand 
men  at  Plas'sey  (1757),  and  recaptured  Calcutta. 


305 

Since  that  day  Calcutta  has  belonged  to  the  British, 
who  have  made  of  it  a  great  and  flourishing  city.  The 
whole  of  Bengal  soon  came  under  their  rule,  and  little  by 
little  they  extended  their  conquests,  until  in  i  760,  the  year 
of  the  death  of  George  II.,  they  drove  the  French  out  of 
India. 

During  the  reign  of  this  monarch  a  change  was  made  in 
the  calendar.  The  English  had  hitherto  kept  to  the  length 
of  the  year  adopted  by  the  Romans  in  the  days  of  Julius 
Caesar.  But  it  had  long  been  known  that  according  to 
this  system  the  year  was,  on  the  average,  about  eleven 
minutes  too  long;  and  these  eleven  minutes  in  each  year 
had  bv  this  time  amounted  to  eleven  davs,  so  all  dates 
were  eleven  days  wrong. 

On  the  Continent  this  error  had  been  corrected  by  the 
pope  in  1582;  but  the  English  had  clung  to  the  "Old 
Style,"  and  they  dated  their  letters  September  3  when 
people  elsewhere  wrote  September  14.  This  difference 
made  correspondence  very  awkward,  so,  by  decree  of  Par- 
liament, the  date  was  changed  in  the  year  1752.  Not  only 
were  the  eleven  days  provided  for,  but  it  was  also  decided 
that  the  year  should  thereafter  begin  on  January  I,  instead 
of  on  the  25th  of  March,  as  had  been  the  custom  until  then. 

o-o>0<C><> 


cm.  LOSS  OF  THE  THIRTEEN  COLONIES. 

GEORGE'S  son  having  died  before  him,  he  was  suc- 
ceeded by  his  grandson,  George  III.     The  new  ruler 
was   not   a  native   German,  like   the   two   Han-o-ve'ri-an 


3o6 

kings  who  preceded  him,  but  prided  himself  upon  being 
"  born  a  Briton." 

As  his  grandfather  and  his  mother  were  not  on  friendly- 
terms,  George  III.  had  been  brought  up  far  from  court, 
and  in  such  quiet  surroundings  that  he  was  always  rather 
timid  and  awkward.  It  was  only  when  called  upon  to 
make  public  speeches  that  he  appeared  well ;  for  he  had 
been  carefully  taught  this  art  by  an  instructor  who  proudly 
cried,  after  his  first  speech:  "  I  taught  the  boy!" 

George  III.  was  a  good  man,  and  so  gentle  and  unas- 
suming that  he  is  often  called  Farmer  George.  He  was 
very  kind  to  every  one  he  met,  and  a  better  father,  hus- 
band, and  son  has  never  been  seen.  He  and  his  family 
were  so  happy  and  united  that  they  were  an  example  to 
the  whole  nation,  and  Queen  Charlotte  is  always  spoken 
of  as  a  very  good  woman. 

The  only  great  defect  in  the  character  of  George  III. 
was  that  he  was  narrow-minded,  obstinate,  and  anxious  to 
rule  by  himself.  Still,  the  English  were  all  very  fond  of 
him,  and  the  Jacobites,  seeing  the  worthlessness  of  the 
Stuarts,  now  became  loyal  subjects,  and  accepted  public 
oflfices  from  the  king. 

The  Seven  Years'  War  was  still  going  on  when  George 
III.  came  to  the  throne;  but  the  British  w^ere  tired  of 
supplying  money  for  what  they  called  "  German  quarrels." 
Still,  although  the  national  debt  already  amounted  to 
many  millions,  they  could  not  make  peace,  for  Spain  had 
joined  forces  with  France  against  England. 

As  a  result,  the  war  was  carried  on  in  the  southern  as 
well  as  in  the  northern  part  of  Europe,  in  the  colonies,  and 
on  the  sea.     There  were  numerous  engagements,  the  Brit- 


307 

ish  gaining  the  advantage  everywhere,  and  in  i  763  Spain 
and  France  were  anxious  for  peace.  In  the  Peace  of  Paris 
it  was  decided  that  almost  all  the  French  possessions  in 
North  America,  east  of  the  Mississippi  River,  should  belong 
to  the  British,  who  also  received  Florida  from  Spain. 

Great  Britain  was  now  the  foremost  country  in  the 
world,  having  the  largest  colonies  and  the  most  trade. 
This  prosperity  was  greatly  owing  to  able  ministers,  among 
whom  one  of  the  best-known  is  Pitt. 

The  war  had  cost  a  great  deal  of  money,  so  heavy  taxes 
were  laid  upon  the  people.  Not  only  were  these  taxes 
laid  upon  England,  the  '*  mother  country,"  but  Parliament 
decided  to  impose  them  upon  the  colonies  also,  although 
Pitt  was  strongly  opposed  to  this.  The  most  prosperous  of 
all  the  colonies  were  located  in  what  is  now  known  as  the 
United  States  of  America ;  and  these  refused  to  be  taxed 
unless  they  were  allowed  either  to  send  members  to  Parlia- 
ment to  protect  their  interests,  or  to  decide  in  their  colo- 
nial assemblies  how  much  they  could  afford  to  pay.  A  good 
many  in  Parliament  thought  the  colonists  were  right,  and 
spoke  and  voted  in  their  favour;  but  the  greater  number 
—  who  did  not  at  all  represent  the  common  people  of 
England — -insisted  that  the  colonists  had  to  obey  any  law 
they  chose  to  make.  They  therefore  began  by  imposing 
taxes  under  a  law  called  the  Stamp  Act.  But  the  Amer- 
ican colonists  resisted  it  so  stronHv  that  Parliament  with- 
drew  the  Stamp  Act,  and  insisted  only  upon  a  small  tax, 
laid  principally  upon  tea. 

Now  it  was  not  unwillingness  to  pay  the  money  that 
caused  the  colonists  to  resist,  but  it  was  the  thought  that 
the  British   would   not  allow  them   the  same  freedom  as 


3o8 

the  people  of  England  enjoyed.  First,  they  refused  to 
buy  tea;  then,  seeing  that  the  British  wanted  to  compel 
them  to  obey,  the  colonists  took  up  arms,  and  at  the  battle 
of  Lex'ing-ton,  in  1775,  began  the  Revolutionary  War, 
which  lasted  about  seven  years.  The  American  forces 
were  ably  led  by  Washington ;  and  the  British,  although 
they  came  over  with  hired  German  troops  and  won  several 
victories,  were  gradually  compelled  to  yield. 

The  colonies  proclaimed  their  independence  from  Great 
Britain  on  the  4th  of  July,  1776,  and  were  soon  recognized 
as  the  United  States  of  America  by  France,  Holland,  and 
Spain.  In  1 781  .  Corn-wal'lis,  the  British  commander, 
surrendered;  and  Parliament,  which  had  fancied  there 
would  be  no  great  trouble  in  putting  down  the  American 
rebellion,  soon  after  had  to  acknowledge  the  independence 
of  the  United  States. 

The  great  statesman  Pitt,  who  had  first  opposed  the 
taxation  of  the  colonies,  made  his  last  and  most  brilliant 
speech  to  protest  against  their  separation  from  the  mothe'r 
country.  He  was  then  so  ill  that  he  fainted  before  his 
speech  was  ended,  and  had  to  be  carried  home,  where  he 
soon  died.  His  son,  the  Younger  Pitt,  who  shared  his 
views,  was  elected  member  of  Parliament  in  1780.  For 
the  next  twenty-six  years  he  was  one  of  the  ablest  Brit- 
ish statesmen,  and  he  too  served  his  country  nobly. 

The  independence  of  the  United  States  being  acknowl- 
edged in  England,  John  Adams  was  sent  there  as  ambassa- 
dor; and  to  him  George  HI.  frankly  said  :  "  I  was  the  last 
man  in  the  kingdom,  sir,  to  consent  to  the  independence 
of  America;  but  now  it  is  granted,  I  shall  be  the  last  man 
in  the  kingdom  to  sanction  the  violation  of  it." 


309 


CIV.    THE    BATTLE    OF    THE    NILE. 

THE  French,  who  had  helped  the  Americans  fight, 
and  who  had  been  the  first  to  recognize  the  inde- 
pendence of  the  United  States,  had  in  the  meantime  grown 
very  much  dissatisfied  with  the  state  of  affairs  in  their  own 
country.  Their  king,  Louis  XIV.,  had  laid  heavy  taxes 
upon  them  to  supply  money  for  his  wars  and  for  his  pleas- 
ures. His  successor,  Louis  XV.,  did  not  care  how  much 
the  people  suffered,  as  long  as  he  was  comfortable,  and 
carelessly  said  that  after  him  the  deluge  might  come. 

This  selfish,  hard-hearted  king  was  followed  by  Louis 
XVI.,  a  blameless  and  gentle  monarch,  who  had  to  suffer 
for  the  sins  of  those  who  came  before  him.  Seeing  that 
his  people  were  about  to  rebel,  he  made  arrangements  to 
have  the  foreign  powers  help  him.  The  French  found 
this  out,  and  were  so  exasperated  over  it  that  they  killed 
the  king's  guard,  bore  the  royal  family  off  to  prison,  be- 
headed Louis  XVI.  and  his  beautiful  wife,  and,  in  imitation 
of  the  Americans,  set  up  a  republic. 

But  there  were  cruel  and  selfish  men  at  the  head  of  the 
French  republic.  They  pretended  that  all  the  nobles  were 
dangerous,  and  while  they  were  in  power  they  imprisoned 
and  beheaded  all  those  that  they  could  seize.  This  awful 
time  is  known  as  the  Reign  of  Terror,  and  Great  Britain 
was  first  to  express  indignation  at  this  behaviour  and  to 
refuse  to  recognize  so  barbarous  a  government  (1793). 

With  the  help  of  other  European  nations  war  was  there- 
fore begun  against  France.  The  French  fleet  was  defeated 
by  Lord  Howe,  but  the  French  army  soon  conquered  Hol- 

STO.   OF    ENG. — 20 


310 


land,  which  became  a  repubhc.  France  now  wanted  to  do 
the  same  with  Ireland;  but  the  British  put  an  end  to  this 
plan  by  the  naval  victories  of  St.  Vincent  and  Cam 'per- 


P.  de  Lontherhourg,  Artist. 


Lord  Howe's  Victory. 

down.  To  prevent  Ireland  from  again  joining  the  French, 
it  was  united  to  Great  Britain,  and  since  i8oi  there  have 
been  English,  Scotch,  and  Irish  members  in  both  Houses 
of  Parliament.  Then,  too,  George  III.  gave  up  the  empty 
title  of  King  of  France,  which  had  been  claimed  by  English 
kings  ever  since  the  time  of  Edward  III. 

When  the  war  began,  France  w^as  alone  against  all  Eu- 
rope ;  but  she  won  many  allies,  owing  to  the  bravery  of 
her  troops  and  to  the  military  genius  of  Na-poOe-on  Bo'- 
na-parte.  The  Dutch  helped  the  French  at  Camperdown, 
and  the  Spaniards  lent  their  aid  at  St.  Vincent. 

Napoleon,  who  had  recovered  Toulon  (too-lawN^)  from 


311 

the  English  and  had  become  a  general  in  the  army,  mean- 
while carried  the  war  into  Italy.  Here  he  won  many  vic- 
tories over  the  Austrians,  forcing  them  to  give  up  the 
country  to  him  and  sign  a  treaty  at  Cam'po-for'mi-o. 

A  great  thinker  once  said  that  he  who  was  master  of 
Egypt  would  be  master  of  the  whole  East.  Napoleon, 
hating  the  English,  determined  to  destroy  their  power  in 
India,  and  set  out  for  the  Nile  with  an  army.  The  battle 
of  the  Pyramids  made  him  master  of  all  Egypt,  but  his 
plans  were  spoiled  by  the  bravery  of  Admiral  Nelson. 
This  great  English  hero  came  up  with  a  smaller  number  of 
ships,  and  completely  destroyed  the  French  fleet  (1798). 

It  was  in  this  naval  encounter,  the  battle  of  Aboukir 
(ah-boo-keer'),  or  of  the  Nile,  that  the  little  son  of  a  French 
officer  named  Ca-sa-bi-an'ca  died  an  heroic  death.  His  fa- 
ther had  told  him  to  stay  at  his  post  until  called  away,  so 
the  brave  little  fellow  staid  there,  amid  shot  and  shell,  until 
the  ship  was  all  wreathed  in  flames.  Casablanca  had  been 
killed  in  another  part  of  the  ship,  but  the  boy,  true  to  his 
promise,  stood  on  the  deck  until  the  powder  magazine  ex- 
ploded and  the  vessel  sank.  His  courage  and  obedience 
were  so  beautiful  that  Mrs.  Hemans  wrote  a  poem  about 
him,  which  you  will  like  to  read. 

After  the  battle  of  the  Nile,  Napoleon  vainly  tried  to 
take  Acre  in  Syria,  but  could  not  do  so  without  a  fleet. 
His  had  been  destroyed  by  Nelson  ;  so,  seeing  that  he  would 
not  be  able  to  carry  out  his  plan  of  fighting  the  English 
in  India,  he  now  suddenly  decided  to  go  back  to  France. 
Passing  boldly  through  the  British  fleet,  he  escaped  cap- 
ture by  miracle,  as  it  were,  and,  arriving  in  Paris,  began  to 
rule  France,  under  the  title  of  First  Consul. 


312 


CV.    NELSON'S    LAST   SIGNAL. 

A  FTER  Napoleon  left  Egypt,  the  British  gained  posses- 
/Y  sion  of  it,  and  brought  back  to  the  British  Museum 
the  large  collection  of  antiquities  which  had  been  gathered 
by  the  French  men  of  science. 

Soon  after,  in  1802,  a  short  peace  was  made  between 
France  and  Great  Britain  at  Amiens  (ah-mi-aN').  On  this 
occasion,  when  Napoleon  and  the  English  statesman  Fox 
met,  some  one  pointed  to  a  globe,  and  remarked  that  Eng- 
land occupied  a  very  small  space  upon  it.  "  Yes,"  retorted 
Fox, promptly  ;  "our  island  is  indeed  a  small  country  —  that 
island  in  which  the  Englishman  is  born,  -and  in  which  he 
would  fain  that  his  bones  should  repose  when  he  is  dead. 
But,"  added  he,  advancing  to  the  globe  and  spreading  his 
arms  round  it,  over  both  oceans  and  both  Indies,  "  while 
the  Englishmen  live,  they  overspread  the  whole  world  and 
clasp  it  in  a  circle  of  power." 

A  peace  between  England  and  France,  two  nations 
then  so  jealous  of  each  other,  could  not  last  long.  It 
was  barely  a  year,  indeed,  before  Napoleon  reopened  hos- 
tilities. In  1804,  being  now  Emperor  of  the  French,  he 
planned  to  invade  England.  He  had  an  army  of  over 
one  hundred  thousand  men  encamped  at  Boulogne,  ready 
to  cross  the  Channel.  But  how  were  they  to  be  taken 
across,  in  the  face  of  the  vigilant  Nelson  and  his  fleet? 
Napoleon  knew  that  all  depended  on  that,  and  said:  "  Let 
us  be  masters  of  the  Channel  for  six  hours,  and  we  are  mas- 
ters of  the  world."  Fortunately  for  England,  he  never 
gained  this  mastery  of  the  Channel,  for  the  French  and 


313 


Spanish  fleets,  with  which  he  had  hoped  to  control  it,  were 
defeated  bv  Sir  Robert  Calder,  and  soon  afterwards  were 
ahnost  destroyed  by  Nelson  in  the  battle  of  Traf-al-gar' 
(1805),  one  of  the  most  famous  of  sea  fights. 

It  seems  that  Admiral  Nelson  had  cornered  the  French 
and  Spanish  fleets  at  Cadiz.  Although  the  enemy  had 
seven  vessels  more  than  the  British,  Nelson  took  his  meas- 
ures so  carefully  that  he  hoped  to  succeed.  He  finally 
bade  his  officers  signal  to  the  fleet  these  famous  words : 
"  England  expects  every  man  to  do  his  duty." 

Then  the  men  set  up  a  deafening  shout,  and  began  the 
fight  bravely.  Nelson  soon  fell,  mortally  wounded ;  but  he 
covered  up  his  face,  lest  his  men,  seeing  he  was  dying, 
should  lose  courage.  He  was  carried  below,  where  he 
lived  long  enough  to  hear  that  the  victory  had  been  w^on, 
and  died  saying,  '*  Thank  God,  I  have  done  my  duty." 


Daniel  JUaclise,  Artist. 


Death  of  Nelson. 


3H 


This  great  English  hero  had  already  been  in  many  bat- 
tles, and  had  won  many  victories.  On  one  occasion  he  lost 
an  eve ;  on  another  he  was  shot  in  the  arm.  As  none  of 
the  medicines  now  used  to  deaden  pain  were  then  known, 

he  suffered  greatly  while  the 
doctors  were  cutting  off  his 
arm.  Having  found  that  the 
pain  was  made  keener  because 
the  instruments  were  cold.  Nel- 
son ever  after  had  them  put 
in  hot  water  before  they  were 
used  on  his  men  ;  for  he  was  as 
thoughtful  of  their  comfort  as 
he  was  brave. 

The  glorious  victory  of  Traf- 
algar is  commemorated  in  Lon- 
don by  Trafalgar  Square,  in  the 
centre  of  which  there  is  a  tall 
column  surmounted  by  a  statue 
of  Lord  Nelson.  The  hero  him- 
self is  buried  in  St.  Paul's 
Cathedral,  where  there  are  monuments  of  some  of  Eng- 
land's greatest  warriors,  both  soldiers  and  sailors. 


Monument  in  Trafalgar  Square. 


-OO^i^^OO- 


CVI.    THE    BATTLE    OF   WATERLOO. 


After  the  failure  of  his  plan  for  crossing  the  Channel, 
2\  Napoleon  plunged  into  new  ventures.  He  suddenly 
marched  off  to  attack  Austria  and  Russia,  and  won  battle 


315 

after  battle  in  central  Europe.  Then,  hoping  to  make 
Great  Britain  poor,  he  declared  that  none  of  her  vessels 
should  be  allowed  to  come  into  any  port  on  the  Continent, 
to  buy  or  sell  any  merchandise.  Of  course,  such  an  order 
made  the  British  angry ;  and  when  they  heard  that  Na- 
poleon intended  to  seize  the  fleet  of  Denmark  and  use  it 
against  England,  they  bombarded  Co-pen-ha'gen  and  seized 
the  Danish  ships.. 

Spain  and  Portugal,  indignant  at  the  treatment  they  re- 
ceived from  their  French  conquerors,  now  declared  war 
against  Napoleon.  They  asked  the  help  of  the  English, 
so  Wel'ling-ton,  the  **  Iron  Duke,"  immediately  set  out  for 
the  south.  With  a  force  of  ten  thousand  men,  he  won  the 
battles  of  Ta-la-ve'ra,  Sal-a-man^ca,  and  Vi-to'ri-a.  This 
war,  which  lasted  from  1808  to  18 14,  is  generally  known 
as  the  Peninsular  War,  because  the  principal  battles  were 
fought  in  the  peninsula  formed  by  Spain  and  Portugal. 

Although  it  seemed  as  if  Great  Britain  had  already 
enough  to  do  in  fighting  the  greater  part  of  Europe,  she 
was  soon  called  upon  to  fight  against  the  United  States 
also.  In  this  War  of  18 12,  about  which  you  can  learn  in 
your  American  histories,  King  George  took  no  interest ; 
for  he  was  now  both  blind  and  insane,  and  his  son  George 
was  acting  as  regent  in  his  stead. 

Napoleon,  having  failed  to  conquer  Russia,  was  obliged 
to  face  all  the  European  powers.  They  defeated  him  at 
the  battle  of  Leip'zig,  or  the  "  Battle  of  Nations,"  in  18 13, 
and  drove  him  back  to  France,  where,  in  18 14,  they  forced 
him  to  give  up  the  crown  to  Louis  XVIII.,  a  brother  of 
the  beheaded  Louis  XVI.  Napoleon  was  then  sent  to  the 
island  of  Elba,  in  the  Mediterranean  Sea.      But  while  a 


(3i6) 


317 

congress  of  the  different  nations,  at  Vi-en'na,  was  trying  to 
decide  how  to  divide  his  conquests,  he  suddenly  escaped. 
Landing  in  France,  he  was  joined  by  a  large  force,  and 
for  nearly  one  hundred  days  was  again  supreme. 

The  European  powers,  however,  were  determined  not 
to  allow  him  to  reign  long,  and  prepared  for  war.  The 
British  under  Wellington,  and  the  Prussians  under  Blii'cher, 
were  first  in  the  field.  Napoleon  met  them  at  Wa-ter-loo' 
(1815),  and  there,  in  spite  of  all  his  genius  and  the  great 
courage  of  his  soldiers,  he  was  completely  defeated. 

"  It  is  all  over  ;  we  must  save  ourselves,"  said  Napoleon, 
who  had  been  in  the  midst  of  the  fight,  but  was  still  un- 
wounded.  He  was  right;  all  was  indeed  over  for  him. 
He  went  back  to  Paris,  and  thence  to  Rochefort  (rosh-for'), 
intending  to  escape  to  America.  But  the  British  fleet 
blocked  the  port ;  and,  being  assured  of  honourable  treat- 
ment, he  went  on  board  the  Bel-ler'o-pJion. 

Napoleon  had  been  so  dangerous  a  foe  that,  in  spite 
of  all  the  promises  made  to  him,  the  British  rulers  finally 
decided  that  it  would  be  best  to  exile  him  to  the  island  of 
St.  Hc-le^na.  Here,  in  the  middle  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean, 
closely  watched  by  soldiers  who  allowed  him  no  privacy, 
Napoleon  spent  six  lonely  years.  He  died  of  a  painful 
disease  in  1821,  and  the  British  vessels  which  had  cruised 
around  the  island  to  prevent  his  escape  then  returned  home. 

It  will  probably  interest  you  to  hear  that  it  was  Wel- 
hngton,  the  victor  of  Waterloo,  who  put  an  end  to  duelling 
in  the  army,  by  telling  his  soldiers  that  it  was  far  more 
cowardly  to  accept  a  challenge  than  to  refuse  one.  Since 
then,  British  soldiers  have  ceased  to  fight,  except  when  in 
the  presence  of  the  enemy. 


(3i8) 


319 


CVII.    THE    FIRST    GENTLEMAN    IN    EUROPE. 

EVEN  before  Napoleon  surrendered,  the  British  and 
Prussian  armies  marched  on  to  Paris,  where  they 
were  joined  by  the  Austrians  and  Russians,  and  placed 
Louis  XVIII.  again  upon  the  throne.  The  w^ar  was  now 
ended ;  but  the  British  national  debt  was  larger  than  ever, 
and  the  heavy  taxes  caused  great  discontent. 

Besides,  the  regent  was  very  extravagant,  and  spent 
such  large  sums  of  money  upon  his  pleasures  that  the  poor 
people  began  to  be  very  indignant.  They  were  especially 
angry  because,  owing  to  the  corn  laws,  —  laws  that  almost 
prevented  the  bringing  in  of  grain  from  abroad,  —  they 
could  not  themselves  get  enough  to  eat.  The  regent  had 
also  treated  his  wife  so  unkindly  that  his  unfeeling  conduct 
had  greatly  added  to  his  unpopularity.  Still,  when  George 
III.  died,  at  the  age  of  eighty-two,  after  a  reign  of  nearly 
sixty  years,  his  son  quietly  succeeded  him  as  George  IV. 

George  IV.  was  handsome,  well  educated,  and  had  such 
elegant  manners  that  his  courtiers  called  him  the  "  First 
Gentleman  in  Europe."  But  he  w^as  a  gentleman  only  in 
outward  appearance.  He  is  regarded  as  one  of  the  w^orst 
of  the  English  kings,  because  he  never  tried  to  do  what  he 
knew  to  be  right,  and  because  he  was  very  selfish. 

Fortunately  for  the  English  nation,  he  had  two  very 
able  ministers,  Peel  and  Canning,  w^ho  had  charge  of  pub- 
lic affairs  during  much  of  his  ten  years'  reign.  They  op- 
posed him  when  he  tried  to  get  a  divorce  from  his  ill-used 
wife,  Caroline,  and  gradually  brought  about  many  impor- 
tant improvements  in  the  laws. 


320 

For  instance,  Parliament  changed  a  law  which  had  been 
in  force  ever  since  the  time  of  Charles  II.,  and  justly  de- 
cided that  Roman  Catholics  as  well  as  Protestants  should 
be  allowed  to  have  seats  in  Parliament  and  to  hold  office. 
This  was  demanded  by  the  Irish,  who  had  chosen  one  of 
their  great  men,  O'Connell,  as  a  member  of  Parliament. 
This  new  law,  which  is  called  the  Catholic  Emancipation 
Act,  was  soon  followed  by  others ;  for  the  British  were 
tired  of  old  abuses,  and  the  time,  or  era,  of  reform  had 
begun. 

During  this  reign,  the  British,  who  v/ere  now  the  first 
naval  power  in  the  world,  joined  France  and  Russia  in 
protecting  the  Greeks  from  the  Turks,  and  helped  win  the 
famous  battle  of  Na-va-ri'no  (1827).  Byron,  one  of  the 
great  English  poets,  took  part  in  this  Greek  war.  But  he 
fell  ill  of  fever  at  Mis-so-lon'ghi,  and  died  before  he  had 
been  able  to  do  much  for  the  country  which  he  loved  be- 
cause it  was  once  the  home  of  many  heroes,  and  of  the  great 
poets  of  antiquity. 

o-0>#40<) 

CVIII.  THE  CHILDHOOD  OF  QUEEN  VICTORIA. 

GEORGE  IV.  left  no  children,  so  his  crown  passed 
on  to  his  brother,  William  IV.  As  he  was  once  in 
the  navy,  he  is  often  called  the  *'  Sailor  King."  He  was  a 
good  and  able  man,  although  somewhat  rough  in  manner, 
and  he  was  much  liked  because  he  was  in  favour  of  reform. 
During  his  short  reign  England  prospered  greatly.  With 
the  building  of  the  first  English  railway,  in  1830,  the  way 
was  opened  for  making  travel  much  more  rapid  and  easy. 


321 

A  change  was  also  made  in  the  mode  of  elections,  and  when 
a  new  House  of  Commons  assembled,  there  were  members 
from  all  parts  of  the  country,  and  all  the  nation  was  at  last 
fairly  represented. 

By  the  efforts  of  a  man  named  WiTber-force,  slavery  was 
abolished  in  the  colonies.  Parliament  also  made  many 
laws  in  favour  of  the  poor,  and  reduced  the  rate  of  letter 
postage. 

William  IV.  and  good  Queen  Adelaide  had  no  children, 
so  their  niece  Victoria  was  considered  the  future  Oueen 
of  Great  Britain.  But  the  crown  of  Hanover,  which  had 
been  worn  by  five  kings  of  England,  could  not  be  inherited 
by  a  woman ;  so  when  William  IV.  died,  his  youngest 
brother,  Ernest,  became  King  of  Hanover.  This  separa- 
tion of  the  two  kingdoms  pleased  the  British,  because  the 
possession  of  land  in  Germany  had  often  forced  them  to 
take  more  part  than  they  wished  in  European  wars,  and 
had  thus  put  them  to  great  expense. 

From  early  childhood  Victoria  was  educated  for  the 
great  position  she  was  to  occupy,  and  taught  to  be  consci- 
entious, kind,  and  affable  to  all.  She  was  a  happy  little 
girl,  although  her  father  died  when  she  was  a  mere  baby, 
for  she  was  constantly  with  her  mother,  the  Duchess  of 
Kent,  a  very  good  woman. 

No  one  was  allowed  to  tell  Victoria  that  she  might  some 
day  be  queen,  and  she  was  brought  up  very  plainly.  We 
are  told  that  she  had  a  small  allowance,  and  that  she  had 
to  keep  strict  account  of  every  penny  she  spent.  Every 
one  was  forbidden  to  give  or  lend  her  any  money,  so  that 
when  she  wanted  to  buy  something,  she  had  to  wait  and 
save  up,  if  her  allowance  was  already  gone. 


322 

One  day  when  she  was  out  with  her  governess,  she  saw 
a  doll  which  pleased  her  much,  and  she  felt  badly  because 
she  could  not  buy  it  at  once.  The  shopkeeper,  however, 
put  it  aside  for  her ;  and  as  soon  as  Victoria  had  saved  up 
enough  money,  she  hastened  to  the  place  to  secure  the 
coveted  treasure.  But  as  she  stepped  out  of  the  shop,  a 
poor  woman  begged  her  for  something  to  eat.  Victoria, 
whose  money  was  all  gone,  hesitated  a  moment ;  then,  turn- 
ing around,  she  begged  the  merchant  to  take  back  the 
doll  and  give  her  her  money,  which  she  immediately  be- 
stowed upon  the  starving  woman. 

When  Victoria  was  about  twelve  years  old,  her  mother 
thought  it  was  time  that  she  should  be  told  that  she  was 
heir  to  the  crown.  So  her  teacher  made  her  trace  a 
genealogical  table  of  the  kings  of  England,  such  as  you 
will  find  at  the  end  of  this  book.  The  little  girl  finally 
came  to  her  uncles,  and  then,  looking  up,  said  that  she 
could  not  see  who  should  come  after  her  uncle  William, 
unless  it  were  she. 

Her  mother  gently  told  her  she  was  right,  and  after  a 
few  moments'  deep  silence  and  thought,  little  Victoria 
slipped  her  hand  into  her  mother's,  and  solemnly  said:  **  I 
will  be  good."  This  resolution,  made  by  so  small  a  girl,  has 
been  faithfully  kept.  She  has  been  a  good  daughter,  a 
good  pupil,  a  good  wife,  a  good  mother,  a  good  queen,  and, 
what  is  best  of  all,  a  thoroughly  good  woman. 

At  five  o'clock  in  the  morning,  on  a  beautiful  June  day 
in  1837,  Victoria  was  roused  from  her  slumbers  to  receive 
the  visit  of  the  ministers  of  state.  After  a  very  hasty 
toilet,  she  went  into  the  room  where  they  were,  and  these 
grave  men  humbly  bent  the  knee  before  her,  calling  her 


323 

their  queen.  Although  only  eighteen  years  old,  Victoria 
received  their  homage  gently  and  with  great  dignity,  and 
made  them  a  little  speech,  in  which  she  expressed  her  sor- 
row for  her  uncle's  death,  and  her  earnest  desire  to  rule 
her  people  wisely. 

Ever  since  that  day,  although  Queen  Victoria  has  stood 
alone,  the  observed  of  all  observers,  she  has  proved  so 
good  and  earnest  that  she  has  won  the  respect  of  all  the 
civilized  world. 


-o-0>ScCoo- 


CIX.    THE    QUEEN'S    MARRIAGE. 

WHEN  Victoria  became  queen,  every  one  felt  a 
tender  interest  in  the  young  girl  who  was  thus 
called  upon  to  stand  at  the  head  of  a  great  nation.  Her 
coronation,  which  took  place  on  June  28,  1838,  was  one 
of  the  grandest  sights  London  has  ever  seen.  She  was 
crowned  at  Westminster  Abbey,  in  the  midst  of  the  peers 
of  the  realm,  who  came  up  to  do  homage  to  her.  Each 
one  in  turn  bent  the  knee  before  her,  and,  removing  his 
coronet,  touched  the  queen's  crown,  saying,  "  I  do  become 
your  liegeman  of  life  and  limb  and  of  earthly  worship; 
and  faith  and  love  will  I  bear  unto  you  to  live  and  die 
against  all  manner  of  folk.      So  help  me  God." 

Even  there,  at  the  coronation,  the  young  queen  showed 
how  kind-hearted  she  was;  for  when  a  very  aged  peer 
stumbled  and  fell,  she  stretched  out  her  hand  to  help  him 
rise,  and  came  down  a  few  steps  so  that  he  need  not  exert 
himself  too  much  to  reach  her. 

Now  you  may  think  it  is  great  fun  to  be  a  queen,  but 


324 

it  is  really  hard  work.  From  the  very  first,  Queen  Victoria 
spent  many  hours  every  day  going  over  state  papers  with 
her  ministers,  who  carefully  explained  everything  to  her. 
This  was  far  more  tedious  for  a  young  girl  than  any  lesson 
could  be ;  for  many  things  were  difficult  to  understand, 
and  all  the  papers  were  very  dry. 

The  queen's  first  minister  and  her  good  friend  was  Lord 
Merbourne,  who  took  a  fatherly  interest  in  her,  and  who 
once  said  of  her:  "  She  never  ceases  to  be  a  queen,  and  is 
alvvays  the  most  charming,  cheerful,  obliging,  and  unaffected 
queen  in  the  world." 

It  was  while  this  minister  was  helping  her  to  govern  that 
a  long-planned  marriage  was  arranged  between  Victoria 
(the  "httle  Mayflower,"  as  her  German  relatives  called 
her)  and  Prince  Albert  of  Saxe-Co'burg-Gotha  (go'ta). 
Victoria  being  a  queen,  and  Albert  only  a  prince,  she  was 
told  that  it  would  not  be  proper  for  him  to  propose  to  her. 
She  therefore  had  to  propose  to  him  ;  and  she  once  said 
that  it  was  the  hardest  thing  she  ever  had  to  do. 

Next,  she  had  to  appear  alone  before  Parliament,  to  tell 
the  House  of  Lords  (which  now  numbers  about  575  mem- 
bers) and  the  House  of  Commons  (670  members)  what  she 
intended  to  do,  and  to  receive  their  good  wishes.  This  too 
was  a  great  trial  for  so  young  a  girl,  but  she  never  had 
cause  to  regret  it,  for  her  marriage  was  very  happy. 

Oueen  Victoria  and  the  Prince  Consort  (for  so  he  was 
later  called)  were  a  most  devoted  couple,  and  they  lived 
a  quiet,  beautiful,  happy,  and  exemplary  life.  Not  only 
was  the  Prince  Consort  a  good  man,  but  he  was  wise  and 
well  educated,  and  so  modest  and  unselfish  that  all  he  ever 
asked  was  to  help  the  queen  and  her  people. 


325 

During  the  following  years  many  changes  took  place  In 
the  royal  family,  where  nine  children  played  in  turn  in  the 
royal  nursery.  Changes  were  going  on  elsewhere  too  ;  for 
since  Victoria  had  come  to  the  throne,  among  countless 
other  improvements,  there  had  been  established  the  first 
penny  post,  the  telegraph,  and  the  Atlantic  cable. 

To  show  the  people  how  many  new  inventions  had  been 
made,  and  what  wonderful  things  the  world  contains,  the 
Prince  Consort  planned  the  first  "  world's  fair,"  or  **  peace 
festival."  It  was  held  in  the  Crystal  Palace,  near  London, 
and  was  such  a  success  that  it  has  been  followed  by  many 
others  in  different  parts  of  the  world.  These  fairs  have 
been  a  great  help  in  educating  people  everywhere,  by  giv- 
ing them  new  and  useful  ideas. 

You  will  probably  often  hear  it  said  that  Queen  Victoria 
is  only  a  figurehead,  and  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  gov- 
ernment, which  is  carried  on  by  Parliament  and  her  Cabinet. 
This,  however,  is  not  true ;  for  while  Great  Britain  is  a 
constitutional  monarchy,  that  is  to  say,  a  kingdom  ruled 
by  the  laws  of  the  land,  and  the  queen  could  not  do  any- 
thing against  the  law%  she  can  do  much  with  it.  Although 
Victoria  is  not  a  genius,  she  is  so  well  educated  and  pains- 
taking that  it  is  she  who  has  often  suggested  many  of  the 
improvements  which  have  taken  place. 

In  the  government  she  has  had  many  prime  ministers 
besides  Lord  Melbourne;  for  you  must  know  that  her 
ministers  resign  their  office  just  as  soon  as  the  greater 
part  of  Parliament  does  not  approve  of  what  they  propose 
to  do.  Then  the  queen  asks  the  principal  man  in  the  op- 
position party  to  be  her  minister  and  to  select  men  for  a 
new  Cabinet.     These  members  stay  in  office  just  as  long 

STO.  OF    ENG.  — 21 


326 


as  the  prime  minister  has  the  good  will  of  the  House  of 
Commons ;  but  when  he  goes,  they  go  too. 

The  queen's  ministers  have  been  these  noted  men  :  Mel- 
bourne, Peel,  Russell,  Derby,  Ab-er-deen',  Palm'er-ston, 


Gladstone. 


Glad'stone  (the  Grand  Old  Man),  Dis-rae'li  (Lord  Beac'- 
ons-field),  Salisbury,  and  Rose'ber-y.  These  ministers 
have  little  by  little  brought  about  many  reforms,  among 
which  is  a  law  allowing  Jews  to  be  members  of  both  houses 
of  Parliament.  Another  says  that  the  Irish  people  need 
no  longer  pay  taxes  for  the  support  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land, which  so  few  of  them  attend. 


327 


ex.    SOME    WARS    IN    VICTORIA'S    REIGN. 

IF  you  were  to  hear  all  the  great  and  important  things 
which  have  happened  during  this,  the  longest  and  most 
glorious  reign  in  English  history,  it  would  take  a  very  long 
time  and  a  much  bigger  volume  than  this  is  now  to  tell 
you  about  them.  There  have  been  so  many  great  artists, 
writers,  scientists,  statesmen,  inventors,  and  discoverers 
that  the  last  half  of  the  nineteenth  century  is  often  called 
the  Victorian  Age. 

Since  Victoria  has  been  on  the  throne  of  Great  Britain, 
there  have  been  many  disturbances.  When  she  began  her 
reign,  the  people  who  had  been  suffering  from  hunger 
wanted  some  of  the  laws  changed.  The  reformers  got  up 
a  charter,  which  thev  said  had  been  signed  bv  five  million 
people,  and,  marching  into  London,  they  rolled  it  into  Par- 
liament in  a  tub. 

The  demands  of  the  Chartists,  as  the  charter-signers 
were  called,  frightened  the  people,  and  many  took  upon 
themselves  the  office  of  policeman  to  keep  the  mob  in  order. 
The  changes  the  Chartists  had  asked  for,  although  not 
granted  then,  were  gradually  brought  about  by  a  few  great 
statesmen,  such  as  the  ministers  already  named,  and  Wil- 
berforce.  Brougham  (broo'am),  Cobden,  and  Bright. 

Changes  were  made  in  corn,  navigation,  and  trade  laws ; 
for  Great  Britain  now  has  free  trade ;  that  is,  goods  are 
brought  into  the  country  without  the  payment  of  duty. 

Queen  Victoria  has  always  taken  a  lively  interest  in  all 
state  matters,  and  has  in  manv  cases  felt  sorrv  for  the 
numerous  wars  fought  during   her  reign.      Among  these 


328 

ktG  several  wars  in  Af-ghan-is-tan',  fought  either  against 
the  natives  or  against  the  Russians,  who  quarrelled  with 
the  British  about  the  frontier. 

Then  there  have  been  a  number  of  wars  with  the  Chi- 
nese. The  first  of  these  wars  is,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  not  to 
the  credit  of  the  British;  for  they  forced  the  Chinese  to 
let  them  have  the  island  of  Hong  Kong,  so  as  to  sell  all  the 
opium  they  wanted  to  the  natives,  for  whom  it  is  even 
worse  than  rum.  In  another  war,  an  English  general,  who 
is  generally  known  as  "  Chinese  Gordon,"  put  down  a 
Chinese  rebellion,  and  in  reward  received  from  the  emperor 
a  mandarin's  yellow  gown  and  some  gay  peacock  feathers, 
these  being  among  the  Chinese,  like  the  Order  of  the 
Garter  among  the  English,  a  mark  of  especial  honour. 

In  India  the  British  waged  two  wars  against  the  Sikhs 
(seeks),  defeated  them,  and  took  possession  of  their  ter- 
ritory, the  Punjab  (pdbn-jahb').  Next  they  fought  against 
the  Burmese,  and  took  possession  of  Lower  Burma.  In 
1857  broke  out  the  terrible  "Indian  Mutiny,"  or  the  re- 
volt of  the  sepoys.  These  sepoys  were  native  soldiers  who 
had  been  trained  to  fight  by  British  officers.  When  new 
rifles  were  introduced,  and  they  had  to  use  greased  car- 
tridges, the  sepoys  fancied  that  the  British  wanted  to  make 
them  do  what  their  religion  forbade  ;  that  is  to  say,  touch 
grease  taken  from  their  sacred  animal,  the  cow,  or  from  the 
hog,  an  animal  the  least  contact  with  which,  they  fancied, 
made  them  unfit  to  enter  heaven. 

The  officers  tried  to  pacify  the  men  by  telling  them  that 
they  could  either  grease  the  cartridges  themselves  with 
anything  they  pleased,  or  use  other  guns ;  but  it  was  too 
late.     The  revolt  spread  from  Mee'rut  to  Delhi  (dellee). 


329 


Cawn-pore',  and  Luck'now.  Everywhere  the  British  were 
killed  without  mercy,  and  at  Cawnpore  men,  women,  and 
children  were  cruelly  butchered  and  cast  into  a  well,  after 
they  had  heroically  defended  themselves  for  many  a  day. 


Memorial  Well,  Cawnpore. 

A  brave  general  named  Hav'e-lock  fought  like  a  tiger  to 
reach  Cawnpore  in  time  to  save  his  countrymen ;  but  he 
got  there  too  late.  In  spite  of  the  awful  heat,  he  next 
hurried  on  to  Lucknow,  where  he  found  the  English  still 
alive.  But  there  were  so  many  women  and  children  that 
he  could  not  fight  his  way  out  with  them.  He  therefore 
joined  them  in  their  heroic  resistance,  which  was  kept  up 


330 


until  a  brave  Scotchman  named  Campbell  came  marching 
to  the  rescue,  just  as  one  of  the  women  had  dreamed. 

When  the  English  heard  the  Scotch  bagpipes  in  the  dis- 
tance, playing  "  The  Campbells  are  Coming,"  they  almost 
died  of  joy.      Lucknow  was  relieved  ;  but  Havelock,  worn 


F.  Goodall,  Artist 


"  Relief  of  Lucknow— Jessie's  Dream." 


out  by  his  heroic  exertions,  soon  breathed  his  last.  The 
mutiny  was  put  down,  and  India  was  taken  away  from  the 
East  India  Company  and  placed  under  the  rule  of  the  queen. 
Since  then  there  have  been  a  few  other  revolts,  which 
have  quickly  been  put  dowm.  But  railways,  telegraphs, 
schools,  and  colleges  are  making  rapid  changes  in  India, 
where  there  are  more  than  two  hundred  million  people, 
speaking  many  different  languages,  practising  many  reli- 
gions, but  all  subject  to  Victoria,  who  was  crowned  Empress 
of  India  in  1877 


331 


Great  Britain  also  fought  one  war  in  Europe,  against 
Russia — a  war  of  which  you  will  hear  a  great  deal.  It  is 
called  the  "  Cri-me'an  War,"  and  it  was  during  this  contest 
that,  owing  to  a  mistaken  order,  the  Light  Brigade  made 
the  gallant  charge  at  Bal-a-klaVa  (1854).  Their  prompt 
obedience,  their  courage,  and  the  death  of  nearly  the  whole 


Robert  Gibb,  Artist. 

"The  Thin  Red  Line  "—93d  Highlanders  at  Balaklava. 


company,  have  made  them  for  ever  famous.  If  you  want 
to  hear  what  dangers  they  braved,  you  had  better  read 
Tennyson's  poem,  ''The  Charge  of  the  Light  Brigade," 
and  then  you  will  see  why  every  one  admires  them. 

While  the  British  soldiers  were  making  their  names 
famous  in  the  Crimean  War,  an  Englishwoman,  Florence 
Nightingale,  nursed  the  sick  and  the  dying  with  such  de- 
votion that  the  men  kissed  her  shadow  on  the  wall  as  she 
passed  by.  Thanks  to  her  exertions,  and  to  those  of  the 
kind  nurses  whom  she  directed,  many  lives  were  saved, 
and  since  then  hospitals  for  wounded  soldiers  have  been 
much  improved. 


(33^) 


U33) 


334 


CXI.    THE   JUBILEE. 

GREAT  BRITAIN'S  wars  in  Africa  have  been  nu- 
merous, for  she  has  fought,  north,  south,  east,  and 
west,  against  many  of  the  small  tribes ;  and  a  large  part  of 
that  continent  is  now  under  her  rule.  In  one  of  these  wars 
the  French  prince  imperial,  son  of  Napoleon  III.,  was  killed 
by  the  Zu'lus;  in  another  brave  "Chinese  Gordon"  fell 
at  Khar-tum';  and  on  his  way  to  a  third,  the  Prince  of 
Bat^ten-berg,  Victoria's  son-in-law,  lost  his  life  from  fever. 

During  the  Civil  War  in  America,  in  1861,  England 
and  the  United  States  pretty  nearly  came  to  blows ;  but 
a  kindly  message,  suggested  by  the  dying  Prince  Consort, 
and  a  prompt  and  graceful  apology  on  the  part  of  the 
United  States,  averted  this  catastrophe.  Later  on,  when 
other  disputes  occurred  between  the  two  nations,  they  were 
settled  by  arbitration,  which  is  always  the  best  method  for 
civilized  people  to  adopt  as  a  means  of  settling  disputes. 

By  all  the  wars  which  you  have  just  read  about,  and 
by  sundry  others  which  we  need  not  mention  here,  Great 
Britain  has  spread  her  territory  farther  and  farther,  and 
grown  stronger  and  stronger.  She  has  also  planted  many 
colonies  without  having  to  fight  great  battles,  the  most 
prosperous  of  these  being  in  Australia,  where  gold  was 
discovered  in  1851.  About  one  quarter  of  all  the  people 
on  the  globe  now  belong  to  Great  Britain,  for  Victoria  is 
said  to  rule  over  nearly  four  hundred  million  subjects. 

The  queen  married  in  1840,  and  had  nine  children.  A 
careful  mother,  she  watched  over  her  children  herself, 
praising  them  when  they  did  right,  correcting  them  when 


they  did  wrong-,  and  always  giving  them  clearly  to  under- 
stand that  their  exalted  position  demanded  that  they  should 
set  a  good  example  to  others. 

One  day  the  queen  went  out  with  the  princess  royal, 
her  eldest  daughter,  t*o  review  some  troops.  Perhaps  she 
was  going  to  bestow  "  Victoria  crosses,"  which  are  the 
medals  given  to  soldiers  or  sailors  for  some  of  the  brave 
deeds  such  as  we  love  to  hear  about.  The  queen's  carriage 
was  escorted,  as  usual,  by  the  magnificent  Horse  Guards, 
who  stood  a  short  distance  off  as  if  they  were  statues.  But 
although  they  were  so  motionless,  each  man's  eyes  were 
fixed  upon  the  royal  carriage,  and  all  were  ready,  at  a 
mere  sign,  to  spring  forward  to  render  any  service. 

Either  to  show  her  importance,  or  to  attract  the  attention 
of  the  handsome  guardsmen,  or  from  a  spirit  of  mischief, 
the  princess  royal,  after  dangling  her  handkerchief  for  a 
few  moments  over  the  side  of  the  carriage,  dropped  it  as 
if  by  accident.  As  it  fluttered  to  the  ground  the  guards- 
men rushed  forward  to  pick  it  up.  But  the  queen,  who 
had  noticed  her  daughter's  manoeuvres,  and  who  knew  she 
had  let  her  handkerchief  fall  intentionally,  motioned  the 
guards  back  to  their  post. 

Then,  turning  to  the  princess  royal,  she  bade  her  get 
out  of  the  carriage  and  pick  up  her  handkerchief  herself, 
since  she  had  dropped  it  only  to  give  trouble.  In  the  sight 
of  guardsmen,  troops,  and  the  assembled  crowd,  "  Vicky," 
as  her  parents  affectionately  called  her,  was  obliged  to  wait 
upon  herself.  And  you  may  be  sure  that  this  wholesome 
lesson,  and  the  queen's  explanation  that  it  was  vulgar  to 
try  to  attract  attention,  made  a  deep  impression  on  the 
princess,  who  later  became  Empress  of  Germany. 


After  the  marriage  of  this  daughter,  and  after  a  happy 
married  Hfe  of  more  than  twenty  years,  the  Prince  Consort, 
who  had  always  worked  very  hard  for  his  wife's  subjects, 
fell  suddenly  and  dangerously  ill.  In  spite  of  the  utmost 
care  and  skill,  he  sank  rapidly,  and  died  in  the  queen's 
arms,  whispering  loving  words  to  her. 

Prince  Albert  was  such  a  good  and  noble  man  that  he 
was  mourned  by  the  w^hole  people.  They  erected  a  beau- 
tiful public  monument  for  him  in  London,  the  Albert 
Memorial,  while  his  sorrowing  wife  and  children  put  up 
a  private  tomb  for  him  at  Frogmore. 

Victoria's  children  have  all  married,  and  nearly  all  of 
them  now  have  large  families.  Her  eldest  son,  the  Prince 
of  Wales,  is  named  Albert  Edward.  The  queen,  who  is  by 
this  time  a  great-grandmother,  is  related  to  nearly  all  the 
crowned  heads  in  Europe,  and  while  one  of  her  grandsons 
is  Emperor  of  Germany,  one  of  her  granddaughters  is 
Czarina  of  Russia. 

Victoria  has  led  a  very  quiet  and  retired  life  ever  since 
the  death  of  the  Prince  Consort.  She  lives  part  of  the  time 
in  London  or  Windsor,  where  she  has  beautiful  palaces. 
The  rest  of  her  time  is  spent  in  her  seaside  home  at 
Os'borne  in  the  Isle  of  Wight,  in  her  mountain  home  at 
Bal-mor'al  in  the  Scottish  Highlands,  or  in  travelling. 

Victoria  is  always  busy  and  is  always  striving  faithfully 
to  do  her  best  for  her  people.  When  state  affairs  do  not 
need  her  attention,  she  reads,  writes,  sews,  and  studies. 
When  she  was  younger  she  used  to  practise  on  the  piano, 
sing,  and  draw.  And  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  she  already 
knew  several  languages,  we  are  told  that,  although  nearly 
sixty  years  old  when  she  became  Empress  of  India,  she 


337 


began  to  study  Hin-doo-sta'nee,  so  that  she  could  talk  in 
their  own  language  to  her  Indian  servants  and  visitors. 

In  1887  Queen  Victoria  celebrated  her  "  jubilee,"  or  the 
fiftieth  anniversary  of  her  reign.  In  1897  another  impos- 
ing pageant  took  place  to  commemorate  the  longest  and 


Albert  Edward,  Prince  of  Wales. 


most  prosperous  reign  of  the  best  sovereign  that  England 
has  ever  seen.  There  was  a  magnificent  procession,  and 
the  queen  heard  the  Te  Deum  sung  in  the  big  square 
before  St.  Paul's  Cathedral ;  for  there  was  no  church  big 
enough  to  contain  the  many  important  people  who  came 


338 

to  do  her  honour.     There  were  princes  and  troops  from 
every  country,  and  in  the  huge  crowd  were  many  Ameri- 
can children,  who,  remembering  how  good  the  queen  has 
always  been,  joined  the  British  in  crying: 
"  God  bless  Queen  Victoria!" 


GENEALOGICAL  TABLE  AND  INDEX 


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(341) 


THE  SOVEREIGNS  OF  ENGLAND. 


First,  William  the  Norman, 

Then  William  his  son; 
Henry,  Stephen,  and  Henry, 

Then  Richard  and  John. 
Next,  Henry  the  third, 

Edwards,  one,  two,  and  three, 
And  again,  after  Richard, 

Three  Henrys  we  see. 
Two  Edwards,  third  Richard, 

If  rightly  I  guess ; 
Two  Henrys,  sixth  Edward, 

Queen  Mary,  Queen  Bess; 
Then  Jamie  the  Scotchman, 

Then  Charles  whom  they  slew 
Yet  deceived,  after  Cromwell, 

Another  Charles,  too. 
Next  Jamie  the  second 

Ascended  the  throne; 
Then  good  William  and  Mary 

Together  came  on ; 
Then  Anne,  Georges  four. 

And  fourth  William  all  passed. 
And  Victoria  came  — 

May  she  long  be  the  lastj^ 


INDEX. 

Key  to  pruiuiiiciation.—  Vowels  :  a  in  late,  a  in  fat,  a  in  c4re,  a  in  far,  &  in  lAst,  a  in 
fall,  a  in  was,  au  in  author  ;  e  in  me,  6  in  in6t,  e  in  veil,  e  in  terra  ;  i  in  fine,  i  in  tin,  i  in 
police  ;  6  in  note,  6  in  not,  6  in  son,  6  in  for,  o  in  wolf,  o  in  do,  oo  in  loop ;  u  in  tune,  ii 
ill  nut,  u  in  riide,  u  in  full,  ii  =  French  u ;  y  in  my,  y  in  hymn.  Consonants  :  q  in  ^ent, 
€  in  ean  ;  g  in  gem,  g  in  get,  G  or  K  =  German  cli ;  ii  =  ny  in  barnyard,  n  =  ng,  N  =  ng 
but  is  silent ;  §  =  z.    Italic  letters  are  silent. 


PAGE 

Ab'bess,  head  of  nunnery 58 

Ab'bot,  head  of  monasteiy 57 

Ab  er-deen',  prime  minister     ....  326 

A-bott-kir',  battle  of  .    - 311 

A-ca'di-a,  relinquished  by  Frencli  .  .  295 
Ac-co-lade',  bestowing  the      ....  161 

A' ere  (a'ker),  Napoleon  at 311 

Kichard  I.  attacks 107-109 

Act  of  Set'tle-ment 287 

Ad'anis,  John,  ambassador  to  England  308 

Ad'di-son,  English  writer 295 

Ad  e-laid(?,  wife  of  William  IV.  .  .  .  321 
Ad-ri-at'ic  Sea,  Richard  I.  on  ...  Ill 
.lEl'la  (al'a),  captured  by  Northmen     .    45 

head  of  Heptarchy 44 

Af-g/tan-is-tan',  wars  in 328 

Af  ri-ca,  wars  in 334 

Agincuurt  (a-zhSN-koor),  battle  of  .  181 
Aix-la-Qha-pelZe',  peace  of  .  .  299,  300 
Al'bert  Edward,  Prince  of  Wales  .  .  336 
Albert  of  SSxt'-Co'burg-Go'tfta, death  of  336 

marries  Victoria 324,  325 

Al'bi-on,  England  called 13 

Alengon  (a-l6N-s6N'),  Duke  of  .  23fi,  244 
Alfred,  King,  conquers  Danes     .     .  49,  50 

death  of 52 

education  of 46,  47 

in  the  herdsman's  hut      .    .     .     .  48,  49 

invents  first  lantern 51 

Alfred,  son  of  Ethelred        68 

Alvii,  Duke  of 244 

Amiens  (a-ml-aN'),  treaty  of    ....  312 
An'ge-vlne  kings.     See  Plantagenets. 
An'gles,  settle  in  Biitaia     .     .     .     .  33,  34 
An'gle-sey,  Druids  settle  in     ....    18 
Suetonius  attacks  Druids  in     .     .    .    24 


PAGE 

An'gli-a,  kingdom  formed  by  Angles   .    34 
An'gli-can  Church.  See  Church  of  ErKjland. 

An'glo-Sax'ons 31-76 

conversion  of 39 

Heptarchy 36 

laws  and  language  of  .     33,  34,  36-38,  78 

names  of  days  of  week 33 

An'liif,  Danish  leader 53,  54 

Anne,  wife  of  Richard  II.    .     .     .    170,  172 
Anne  of  Cleve§,  marries  Henry  VIIT. 

218,  219 
Anne,  Queen,  daughter  of  James  II.    .  282 

age  of  literature 295 

death  of 296 

marries  Prince  George  of  Denmark  .  291 
An'selm,  Archbisliop  of  Canterbury     .    88 

An-to-ni'nus,  wall  of 26 

Ar'a-bic  numbers,  introduced      ...    52 

Ar-gyle',  Duke  of 284 

Ar'mour,  desciiption  of 89,  90 

Ar-suf ,  Richard  victorious  at ...    .  110 
Ar'tliur,  King,  defeats  Saxons      .     .  34,  35 

tales  of 35,  36 

Arthur,  nephew  of  John      .     .     .    117,118 

Arthur,  son  of  Henry  VII 205 

As'ca-lon,  fortifications  rebuilt    .    .    .  110 

As'eAam,  Elizabeth's  tutor 234 

As-san'dun,  battle  of 64 

As-sas'sins,  tribe  of 109 

Ath'el-stan  the  Glorious,  Saxon  king, 

reign  of 53,  54 

At-lan'tic  cable,  laid 325 

At'ti-la,  invasion  of 28 

Aus-tia'li-a,  British  colonies  in   .     .    .  334 

Aus'tri-a,  Duke  of 108-110 

Austrian  Suc-ces'sion,  War  of     .    .    .  299 


343 


344 


PAGE 
Aus'tri-ans,  Napoleon  conquers  .  311,  314 
Av'a-lon,  home  of  fairies 35 

Bab'ing-ton,  conspiracy  of 243 

Ba'con,  Lord  Francis 259 

Bacon,  Roger,  discoveries  of  ...  .  128 
Bai-a-kla'va,  Light  Brigade  at  .  .  .  331 
Ba'li-ol,  Edward,  Scottish  king  .  .  .152 
Baliol,  John,  claims  Scottish  throne   .  137 

Ball,  John,  leads  mob 168 

Ballad  of  Chgv'y  Chase 171 

Bal-m5r'al,  Queen  Victoria's  residence,  336 

Bal'tic  Sea 31 

Bank  of  England,  established     .     .    .  291 

Ban'nock-burn 145 

Bare'bone,  Praise-God 272 

Bar'net,  Yorkist  victory  at 194 

Bar'ons,  draw  up  Magna  Charta .    .     .  122 

join  Prince  Edward 127 

power  of 80 

ravages  of 97 

revolt  of 147,  148 

Bat'ten-b6rG,  Prince  of 334 

Battle  of  Nations 315 

Battle  of  the  Spurs 206 

Battle  of  the  Stand' ard 94 

Ba-va'ri-a,inWarofAustrianSuccession,  299 

Ba-yeux'  tapestry 76 

Beach'y  Head,  battle  of 289 

B6rtc'ons-fleld,  Lord,  prime  minister    .  326 

Beaii'fort,  Cardinal 187 

Beck'et,    Thomas    h,    Archbishop    of 

Canterbury 100 

chancellor 99 

murdered 102 

quarrel  with  Henry  II 101 

shrine  of  St.  Thomas 103 

Bed'ford,  Duke  of,  death  of    ....  186 

regent  of  France 183,  184 

Ben-gal',  war  in 303-305 

Be-ren-ga'ri-a,  wife  of  Richard  I.  .  .  107 
Berke'ley  Castle,  Edward  II.  murdered 

in 149 

Ber'tha,  wife  of  Ethelbert 38 

B6r'?dck,  taken 146 

Bible,  divided  into  verses  and  chapters,  120 

King  James's 254 

translated  into  English 170 

Bir'nam  woods 73 

Black  death,  ravages  of 159 

Black  Hole  of  Calcutta 304 

Black  Prince,  death  of 163 

in  Guienne 162 

wins  battle  of  Cr^cy    ....    154,  155 

Blake,  Admiral 271,  272 

Blen'heim,  battle  of 292 


PAGE 

Blenheim  Castle 293 

Blon-del',  finds  Richard  1 112 

Bloody  As-si'zes 285 

Blii'cher  (-Ger),  Prussian  general    .    .  317 

Bo-ad-i-ce'a 24,  25 

Bo-he'mi-a,  King  of,  at  Cr^cy  .  .  .  155 
Bol'ejn,  Anne,  Henry  VIII.  marries  .  215 
sent  to  Tower  and  executed.  .  217,218 
BOl'ing-broke.  See  Henry  IV. 
Bom-bay',  English  property  .  .  278,  303 
Bordeaux  (bor-do') ,  Black  Prince  at    ,  162 

B6s'co-bel,  Charles  II.  at 270 

B5§'worth,  battle  of 201 

BOth'well,  Earl  of 240,  241 

Bou-loff&e',  acquired  by  English  .    .    .  221 

French  army  at 312 

Bourges  (boorzh),  King  of 184 

Bom- vines',  English  defeat  at  ,    .    .       120 

Boj^ne,  battle  of  the 289 

Br&une-ViU^,  battle  of 89 

Bretigny  (br6-ten-yi'),  treaty  of  .    .     .  163 

Bret'wal-da 36 

Bright,  English  statesman      ....  327 

Bris'tol,  besieged 149 

Matilda  besieged  at 94 

Bri-tan'ni-a,  Latin  name  for  England  .    22 

Brit'oDS,  adopt  Christianity    ....    26 

conquered  by  Romans     .     .     .22,  23,  25 

driven  from  England  .    .     .     .32,  33,  35 

religious  customs  of 18,  19 

settle  in  England 17 

Brit'tan-y,  Britons  settle  in     ....    35 

opposed  to  John 117,  118 

Brittany,  Duke  of,  joins  Henry  IV.      .  173 

Bronze  Age,  defined 12 

Brough'am,  English  statesman    .     .    .  327 

Bruce,  David,  defeat  of 157 

Bruce,  Robert,  and  the  spider     .    143,  144 

claims  Scottish  throne 137 

crowned 140 

death  of 152 

escapes 139 

King  of  Scotland 146 

signs  treaty  with  Edward  III.      .     .  151 

victorious 144,  145 

Bru'nan-burG/i,  battle  of 54 

Buck'ing-/iara,  Gloucester's  friend  .     .  198 

executed 200 

Buckingham,  Duke  of  (Steenie)  .    .     .  259 

adviser  of  Charles  1 261 

murdered 261 

Bur'gun-dy,  Duchess  of,  helps  Warbeck  204 

Burgundy,  Duke  of 180 

Bur'leigh,  chief  minister  of  Queen  Eliza- 
beth     233,  235 

death  of 250 


345 


PAGE 

Bui'ma,  conquered 328 

By'ron,  Lord,  death  of 320 

Ca-bar,  the 281 

Cab'i-net,  the 326 

CjWot,  discovers  Newfoundland     .    .  205 

Cade,  Jack,  rebel 188,  189 

Ca'diz,  Francis  Drake  at 245 

French  and  Spanish  fleets  at    .    .    .  313 

Spanish  lleet  at 244 

Cfflgd'mon,  story  of 41 

Caer-le'on,  King  Arthur's  palace  at      .    36 
Q«e'§ar,  Jul'ius,  in  Britain      .     .     .21,  22 

Ca-lkis',  capture  of 156,  157 

Henry  VIII.  meets  Francis  at .     .    .  210 
sole  English  possession  in  France    .  186 

Spanish  Armada  at 245 

taken  by  French 232 

Cal-cut'ta,  captured 303,  304 

Cal'der,  Sir  Robert 313 

Cal-e-do'ni-a,  Scotland  called  ....    27 

Cal'en-dar,  change  in 305 

Cam^'fiell,  relieves  Lucknow  ....  330 
Campbells,  murder  MacDonalds      .     .  288 

Cam'per-down,  battle  of 310 

Cam'po-for'mi-o,  treaty  of 311 

Can'ning,  English  minister      ....  319 

Can'non,  first  used 155 

Ca-no'va,  sculptor 301 

Can'ter-bur-y  Cathedral      .    .     39,  40,  164 

Ca-niit«',  Danish  king 64 

and  the  waves 65,  66 

death  of 67 

King  of  England 65 

Ca-rac'ta-cus,  leader  of  Britons  ...    23 
Cai-'diff  Castle,  Robert  imprisoned  in  .    89 

Car-lisle',  Edward  I.  at 140 

Car-nar'von,  Castle  of 132 

Car'o-line,  wife  of  George  IV.  ....  319 
Carr,  James  I.'s  favourite  .    .    .    256,  258 

Ca-§a-bi-an'ca,  story  of 311 

Cas-si-t6r'i-de§,  Tin  Islands     ....    20 
Cas-si-vel-lau'nus,  leader  of  Britons     .    22 
Cas-tile',  tlirone  of,  secured  by  Lancas- 
ter   171 

Cath'er-ine,  wife  of  Henry  V 183 

Catherine  of  Ar'a-gon,  divorced  .    215,  237 

marries  Henry  Ylll 206 

marries  Prince  Arthur 205 

Catherine  of  Bra-gan'za,  wife  of  Charles 

II 278 

Cath'o-lic  Emancipation  Act  ....  320 
Catholics,  Roman,  favoured  by  Charles 

II 281,  282 

favoured  by  James  II 285 

in  Ireland 288 


PAOE 
Catholics,  Roman,  in  Parliament     .    .  320 

in  Scotland 224 

opposed  to  Wyclif 171 

plots  of  ...     .     242,  252,  253,  254,  255 
refuse  oaih  of  supremacy     ....  216 

set  sail  for  America 263 

trouble  with  Charles  1 261 

under  Elizabeth 237,  244 

under  Mary 228,  230 

Cav-a-lier§'  and  Roundheads,  264,  265,  270 

Cawn-pore',  revolt  in 329 

Cax'ton,  introduces  printing   ....  196 

Celts,  in  England 14-18 

Chalons  (sha-16N'),  Little  Battle  of  .    .  129 

Cha-liis',  Lord  of,  besieged 116 

Char'ing  Cross,  erected 136 

Charles  I.  of  England,  character,  260,  261 
consents  to  Petition  of  Right  .    .    .  261 

executed 268 

rules  without  Parliament    ....  262 

tried  as  traitor 266,  267 

wages  war  with  Parliament      .    .    .  265 
Charles  II.,  appeals  to  Parliament .    .  267 

character 282 

crowned 276 

death  of 282 

flight  of 270,  271 

in  Scotland 269 

marriage  of 278 

policy  of 277 

sells  Dunkirk  to  French 280 

Charles  V.  of  Spain  and  Holland     .    .  207 

alliance  with  Henry  VIII 210 

Charles  VII.  of  France  ....  184-186 
Charles  Edward,  Prince  .  .  .  299,  300 
ghar'Iot«e,  wife  of  George  III.     .    .    .306 

Chart'ists,  demands  of 327 

Chau'cer,  English  author 164 

Ches'ter,  Roman  camp  at 25 

Chl-ne§e',  wars  with 328 

ghiv'al-ry,  age  of 159-161,  194 

Church  of  England,  in  Charles  I.'s  reign  263 

Irish  not  taxed  for 326 

James  I.  favours 252 

James  II.  promises  to  support .    .    .  284 

restored 277 

the  national  church 233 

under  William  and  Mary     ....  288 

Churches,  built 39,  40,  69 

destroyed  by  Danes 45 

founded  in  Ireland 31 

Church'ill,  Lady 293 

Churls,  duties  of 36 

Civ'il  War,  in  America 334 

in  England      ....     94,  124,  125,  265 
Clar'ence,  George,  Duke  of     ".  191,  193-195 


346 


PAGE 

Ciar'en.don,  Earl  of 277 

exiled 281 

Clau'di-us,  releases  Caractacus    ...    23 

sends  legions  to  Britain 22 

Ciav'er-Tioilse,  commander 277 

Cliv(?,  Robert     , 304 

Cob'den,  English  statesman    .    .    .    .327 

Coh'hava,  Lord,  burned  ......  180 

Col'o-nies,   American,   proclaim  inde- 
pendence      308 

taration  in 307 

Colonies,  British  ....  307,  332-334 
Co-lum'bus,  discovers  America  .  .  .  205 
Com'merce,  encouraged ....  203,  257 
Com'mon-wealth,  the  ...  269,  271-275 
Compifegne  (coN-pyaiY),  Joan  of  Arc  at,  185 

C5m'yn,  killed 140 

Con-sti-tu'tions  of  Clarendon  ....    99 

Becket  opposes 101 

Con'vents 58 

Co-pen-ha'gen,  bombarded 315 

Corfe  Castle,  Edward  murdered  at  .    .    61 

Corn  laws 319,  327 

Corn'wall,  Britons  in 32 

tin  mines  in .20 

Corn-wal'lis,  surrenders 308 

Cor-o-na'tion  stone  of  Scotland  .    .    .  138 
Cor'yat,  traveller   ......    257,  258 

Cov'e-nant,  the  Scottish  .     .     o263,  269,  277 
Cov'en-try,  Leofric,  Lord  of    ....    71 

Cran'mer,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  .  215 
arranges  Book  of  Common  Prayer  .  223 
burned  at  stake  ........  231 

character 220 

Cr^cy  (cra-se'),  battle  of     .    .    .     153-155 

Cri-me'an  War 331 

Crom'well,  Oliver,  and  Charles  I.    .     .  266 

death  of 275 

Protector  of  Commonwealth    .     272-274 

Puritan  leader 264,  265 

victory  of  Dunbar 269 

Cromwell,  Richard,  son  of  Oliver,  275,  276 
Cromwell,  Thomas,  and  Henry  VIII. 

218,  219 

Cru-sade',  first 86 

Prince  Edward  joins  last      ....  128 

Richard  joins  third     ....    105,  107 

CuMo'den,  battle  of  .......  300 

Cum'ber-land,  Duke  of 301 

Cum'bri-a,  conquered  by  Edmund  .    ,    55 

Cur'few  bell 81 

Cy'prus,  Richard  captures 107 

Dane'geld,  Danes'  money 64 

payment  of,  stoi>ped 69 


PAGE 
Dane'la^^       45 

Danes  restricted  to 50 

Dane§,  at  war  with  Saxons,    44,  45,  47,  54 

conquered  at  Ethandun 50 

defeated  at  Stamford  Bridge    ...    75 

defeated  by  Edward 55 

invade  England 64,  74 

ravages  of 42,  44 

Dan'ish  kings 64,  67,  68 

Danish  ships,  seized 315 

Darn'ley,  Lord 238,  240 

Dau'phin 184 

Da'vid  of  Scotland,  invades  England    .    93 
David,  successor  of  Robert  Bruce    .     .  152 

taken  prisoner 157 

David,  Welsh  leader 131,  132 

Days  of  week,  named 33 

Dee,  river      .    .    ,    .    » 60 

De-fend'er  of  the  Faith 211 

De-foe',  Daniel,  English  author  .     .     .  282 
Del'M,  revolt  in     .    .     o    .    .     .     .     .  328 

Der'by,  prime  minister 326 

De-spen'sers,  father  and  son,  favourites 

of  Edward  II 147-149 

D'Este  (das'te),  Marie,  James  II.  mar- 
ries      284 

Det' ting-en,  battle  of 299 

Di§-ra«'li,  prime  minister 326 

Dome§'day  Book 81 

DoQg'las,  figlits  Saracens     .    .     .    146,  147 
skirmish  warfare  of     ....    150,  151 
Douglas,  defeats  Percy  Hotspur  .    .     .  171 
Douglas,    George,    assists     Mary    of 

Scots 242 

Drake,  Sir  Francis 245 

Dru'ids,  in  Anglesey 18 

killed  by  Suetonius 24 

religion  of 14-17 

Dry'den,  poet o     .  282 

Dud'ley,  lawyer      ......    205,  206 

Northumberland's  father    ....  207 

Dudley,  son  of  Northumberland  .  .  226 
husband  of  Lady  Jane  Grey  .  .  .229 
Du'el-ling,  end  of,  in  British  army  .  .  317 
Dun-bai-',  Scotch  defeats  at  .  .  138,  269 
Dunbar  Castle,  Mary  of  Scots  at  .  .  240 
Dun'can,  King  of  Scotland,  murdered,  73 
Dun'kirk,  acquired  by  Cromwell      .    .  274 

sold  to  French 280 

Spanish  army  at 244 

Dun'stan,  banished 59 

influence  of 56-58 

in  power <>    .     .    .    CO 

placed  among  saints 62 

Duquesne  (du-kan'),  Fort,  captured     .  303 
Dutch.    See  Holland. 


347 


PAGE 

East  India  Company,  formed  ....  257 

loses  India 330 

trading  posts  of 303 

Edgar,  laws  of <iO 

Edge'hill,  battle  of 265 

Edinburgh  (ed'in-bur-ru),  captured    .  300 

English  army  at 224 

E'dith,  wife  of  Edward  the  Confessor  .  69 
Ed'miuul,  King,  conquers  Cumbria  .  55 
Edmund  Iron'sides,  war  with  Danes    .     64 

Ed'red,  defeats  Danes 55,  56 

under  Dunstan's  influence  .  .  .57,  58 
Ed' ward  the  Confessor  ...  69,  70,  73 
Edward  the  Elder,  King  of  Saxons  .     .    53 

Edward  the  ^Martyr 61,  62 

Edward  I.,  coronation  of 129 

death  of 140 

escapes       127 

marches  into  Wales 132 

persecutes  Jews 130 

reforms  of 130 

taken  prisoner 126 

trouble  with  France    ....     134-136 

wins  Little  Battle  of  Chalons    .     .     .  129 

Edward  II.,  first  Prince  of  Wales,  132,  140 

murder  of 149 

Parliament  at  York 142 

revolt  of  barons       147,  148 

war  witli  Bruce 145 

Edward  III.,  crowned 149 

death  of 165 

fights  Scots 150,  151 

Hundred  Years'  War 153 

seven  years'  truce  with  France     .     .  159 

Edward  IV.,  death  of 196 

escapes       193 

marries  ElizaliCth  Woodville    .     .     .  193 

proclaimed  king 191 

returns  to  London 195 

Edward  V.,  birth  of 194 

imprisoned  and  murdered  .  .  197,  198 
Edward  VI.,  son  of  Henry  VIII.      .     .  218 

crowned 222 

death  of 226 

education  of 223 

peasants'  revolt 224 

plan  for  his  marriage 224 

plan  for  the  succession    .     .     .    225,  226 

Ed'wy,  Saxon  king 58 

E'gypt,  British  take  possession  of    .     .  312 

Napoleon's  victories  in 311 

El'ba,  Napoleon  sent  to 315 

Erean-or,  wife  of  Henry  II 96 

imprisoned 104 

released 107 

Eleanor,  wife  of  Edward  I.     .     .    128,  136 


PAGE 

E-lec'tions,  reform  in 321 

El-frl'da,  Edgar  marries 61 

reigns  in  England 62 

El-gi'va,  wife  of  King  Edwy  .  .  .  58-60 
E-liz'a-beth,  Queen,  daughter  of  Henry 

VIII 217,  218 

character 234 

church  policy  of 233 

crowned 233 

death  of 252 

encourages  literature  .    .    .    .247,  249 

excommunicated 237 

Invincible  Armada 244-246 

plans  for  her  marriage 236 

reforms  of 235 

successor  to  throne      ....    222,  225 

troubles  with  Ireland 250 

troubles  with  Mary  Stnait  .  .  242,  243 
Elizabeth,  wife  of  Henry  VII.  .  .  .  202 
Elizabeth  Wood'ville,  wife  of  Edward 

IV 193 

E-liz'a-beth-an  Age 247,  249 

Eai'ma,  wife  of  Ethelred 64 

marries  Canute 65 

Emp'son,  lawyer 205,  206 

England  (ing'glund),  origin  of  name  .  34 
separation  fiom  Hanover  ....  321 
separation  of  French  provinces  .  .  118 
nnion  with  Ireland      ......  310 

union  with  Scotland 295 

Wales  annexed 134 

England,  Church  of.    See  Church  of 

England. 
English  (ing'glish)  language     .     .     34,  164 

English  Pteign  of  Terror 285 

Er'nest,  King  of  Hanover 321 

Es'sex,  kingdom  of  Saxons 34 

Essex,  Earl  of,  Elizabeth's  advisei-,  250,  251 
Eth-an-dun',  Danes  conquered  at  .  •  50 
Eth'el-bert,  Anglo-Saxon  king  ...  38 
Eth'el-red  the  Unready,  Anglo-Saxon 

king 62 

pays  Danegeld 64 

Eth'el-wulf,  King,  journeys  to  Rome  .    46 

^u-gene',  Prince 291,  292 

Evcg'^am,  battle  of 127 

Ex-com-mii-ni-ca'tion,  defined  .  .  .  103 
Ex'e-ter,  Roman  camp  at 25 

Fair'fax,  Puritan  leader 264 

Fair  ROs'a-mond,  story  of  .  .  .  .96,  97 
Fal'kirk,  Scots  defeated  at  ....  138 
Fav'er-sham,  James  II.  escapes  to  .  .  285 
Fawkes,  Guy,  Gunpowder  Plot  of,  255,  256 
Fer'di-nand  and  Isabella  of  Spain  .    .    205 


348 


PAGE 
Feu'dal-ism,  decline  of  ...    .    155,  201 

introduced 80,  81 

Field  of  the  Cloth  of  Gold 210 

Fire,  great 279 

Fish'er,  Bishop  of  Roch'es-ter  .  216,  217 
Flan'derg,  Count  of,  John's  ally  .  •  .  120 
Flanders,  Pliilip  i)f  Spain  in  ...  .  232 
Flint  Castle,  Richard  II.  in    .     .     .     .  173 

Flod'den  Field,  battle  of 207 

F16r'i-da,  boundary  in  dispute     ...     .  298 

ceded  to  England 307 

F5th'er-in-gay  Castle,  Mary  in    .    .    .  243 

Fox,  Charles 312 

France,  acquires  Calais 232 

attacked  by  John 120 

Britons  settle  in 35 

English  possessions  in,  lost .  .  .  .118 
helps  Greeks  against  Turks  .  .  .  320 
Hundred  Years'  War 

153-159,  162,  163,  180-186 
loses  colonial  possessions  .  .  305,  307 
makes  compact  with  Spain  .     .    298,  299 

Napoleon 311,  312 

Northmen  in 63 

recognizes  independence  of  United 

States 309 

Reign  of  Terror 309 

Seven  Years'  War 301 

treaty  of  Bretigny 163 

War  of  Spanish  Succession  ....  290 
wars  with  England 

115, 134-136,  153, 180,  221,  223,  311 
Fran'cis  I.,  King  of  France     ....  207 

meets  Henry  VII 210 

Francis  IT.,  marries  Queen  of  Scot- 
land     225 

"Frank'ing"  letters 275 

Fre'a,  goddess  of  beauty 34 

Fred'er-ick  V.,  Elector 259 

Free  trade 327 

French  and  Indian  War 301 

Fr6b'ish-er,  commander 245 

Frog'more,  tomb  for  Prince  Albert  at .  336 


Gad§,  driven  to  Scotland  and  Wales   .    18 

settle  in  England 13,  14 

Gard'iner,   Bishop,   adviser  of  Queen 

Mary 228,  230 

death  of 231 

imprisoned 224 

Gas-coigrne',  Judge 177,  179 

Gaul,  invaded  by  Attila 28 

Gav'es-ton,  Piers 141-143 

Geoffrey  of  Anjou  (aN-zhoo'),  marries 
Matilda 92 


PAGE 
Geoffrey,  son  of  Henry  II.  .    .    .    105,  106 

George  I.,  death  of     , 298 

proclaimed  king 296 

visits  Hanover 297 

George  II.,  crowned 298 

death  of 305 

George  III    character  uf 306 

crowned 305 

death  of 319 

George  IV.,  regent 315 

character  of 319 

George,  husband  of  Anne  .  .  .  291,  295 
Geor'gi-a,  boundary  of,  in  dispute  .  .  298 
Ger'man-y,  Charles  V.,  Emperor  of     .  207 

Victoria,  Empress  of 335 

William,  Emperor  of  ......  336 

in  War  of  Spanish  Succession  .    .    .  291 

Gl-bral'tar,  captured 294 

Gil'bert  h  Becket 99 

Gil'das,  writes  Latin  history  ....    41 

Glad'stone,  prime  minister 326 

Glas'fon-bur-y,  Arthur  buried  at  .  .  35 
Glen-coe',  MacDonalds  murdered  at  .  288 
Glen'doiveT,  Owen,  leads  rebellion  .  .  175 
G16?fces'ter,  Humphrey,Duke  of,  183, 184, 187 
Gloucester,    Eichard,   Duke    of.     See 

Richard  III. 
Gloucester,  Robert,  Earl  of     .     .     .  94,  95 
Gloucester,  Thomas,  Duke  of  .    .    .    .167 

death  of 172 

regent 171 

Godi'va,  Lady,  story  of 71,  72 

God'win,  officer  of  Canute 67 

death  of 70 

influence  of 68,  69 

Gor'don,  Chinese 328 

death  of 334 

Grand  Alliance 291 

Great  Brit'ain,  countries  composing    .     11 

Ireland  united  to 310 

kingdom  of 295 

Great  Char'ter.     See  Magna  Charfa. 

Greek  war 320 

Greenwich  (grfin'ij)  Hospital  founded,    291 

Gr6g'o-ry,  Pope 38-40 

Grey,  Lady  Jane 226 

executed 229 

reigns  ten  days 227,  228 

Grey,  Lord,  executed 197 

Gui-&nne',  Black  Prince  in 162 

English  province 118,  153 

French  monarch  occupies    ....  135 
Guine-gate',  French  defeat  at      .    .     .  206 

Gun'pow-der,  discovered 128 

Gunpowder  Plot 254-256 

Guth'rum,  Danish  general       ....    50 


349 


PAGE 

HiVbe-as  Cor'pus  Act 281,  285 

Ha'dri-aii,  wall  of 26 

Hal,  Piiiice.     See  II envy  V. 

Ha liip'deii,  paj's  ship  money   .     .     .     .262 

Puritan  leader 264 

Hanip'ton  Court,  Charles  I.  at    .     .     .  266 

Wolsey  at 208 

Haii'o-ver,  Elector  of,  marries  Sox)hia  .  2% 

separated  from  En.uhuid y21 

Han-o-ve'ri-an  kiiiys,  296,  298,  305,  319,  320 

Har-di-ca-nute',  King 68 

ZTar-fle^i-',  surrender  of 180 

Har'old,  deatli  of 75 

made  king 74 

Harold  the  Harefoot 68 

Has'tings,  battle  of 75,  76 

Hastings,  Lord,  beheaded 197 

Hastings,  pirate  chief 50 

Hat'heid    House,    Elizabeth    captive 

at    ...     : 233 

Hav'e-lock,  in  Indian  Mutiny  .  329,  330 
Haw'ar-den  Castle,  captured  ....  132 
Hawkc,  Adniiial,  destroys  French  fleet,  303 

Hawk'ins,  commander 245 

Hedgely  Moor,  battle  of 191 

Hem'an§,  Mrs.,  poet 311 

Hen'gist,  leader  of  Jutes 32 

Hen-ri-et'ta  Maria,  wife  of  Charles  I. 

259,  261 
Hen'ry  I.  (Beauclerc,  bo-klark').  King 

of  England 88 

death  of 92 

master  of  Normandy 89 

Henry  II.  (Short'man-tle),  and  TlKnnas 

k  Becket .    100,  101 

conquers  Ireland 103 

crowned 96 

death  of 105 

institutes  trial  by  jury 97 

pultlic  penance  of 104 

war  witli  Steplien 95 

Henry  III.,  crowned 124 

death  of 129 

ingloiious  reign  of 128 

Henry  IV.,  crowned 173 

deatli  of 178 

exiled 173 

war  with  Welsh  and  Scotch      .    .     .  175 
Henry  V.,  battle  of  Agincourt     .     .    .  181 

battle  of  Shrewsbury 175 

conquests  in  France 182 

death  <>f 183 

invades  France 180 

succeeds  Henry  IV 179 

Henry  VI 183 

captured 190 

STO.   OF  KNC;.— 22    . 


PAGE 

Henry  VI.,  death  of 195 

deposed 191 

marries  Margaret  of  Anjuu .     .     .     .187 

recrowned 194 

Henry  VII.,  character  of    .     .     .    205,  206 

crowned 201 

death  of 206 

discoveries 205 

Earl  of  Richmond 200 

marries  Elizalieth 202 

the  pretenders '  .    203,  204 

Henry  VIII.,  alliance  with  Charles  V. 

207,  210 

character 206 

death  of 222 

Defender  of  the  Faith 211 

encourages  learning  and  commerce 

220,  221 
head  of  cnurch    ....      216,  218,  219 

marries  Anne  Boleyn 215 

marries  Anne  of  Cleves 219 

marries  Catherine  Howard  .    .     .    .219 
m.irries  Catherine  of  Aragon    .    .     .  206 

nuirries  Catherine  Parr 219 

marries  Jane  Seymour 218 

proceedings  for  divorce    .     .     .    212-215 

Henry,  son  of  James  1 258 

Henry,  son  of  Charles  I.      .    .    .    267,  268 

Hep'tar€/iy 36 

H6r'e-ford,  Earl  of 135 

Hex'Aam,  battle  of 191 

Hl-ber'nl-a,  Ireland  called 29 

Higli'land-ers,  defeated 287 

join  Prince  Charles  Edward     .    300,  301 

Hil'da,  abbess 41 

Hol'bein,  painter 221 

Hol'land    (Dutch),   Charles  V.,  ruler 

of 207 

wars  with  England .     .     .     271,  281,  310 

wars  with  France 291,  299 

Ho'ly-rood  Palace 240 

Hom'il-don  Hill,  victory  at     ....  175 

HOng  K6ng,  British  take 328 

Hor'sa,  leader  of  Jutes 32 

Hot'spur,  Percy,  war  with  Scots  .    171,  175 
House  of  Com'mons,  origin  of,  127,  128,  136 

House  of  Lords 136 

How'ard,  Admiral 245 

Howard,    Catherine,    marries    Henry 

VIII 219 

Howe,  Lord,  defeats  French    ....  309 
Hd'gMe-nots,  Charles  I.  aids    ....  261 

in  England 288 

Hun'dred  Years'  War 

153-159,  162,  163,  180-186 
Huns,  invasions  of 28 


350 


PAGE 

In-de-pend'ents,  in  James  I.'s  reign  .  254 
quarrel  with  Parliament 266 

In'di-a,  French  and  English  in    .     .    .  303 

French  driven  dut  of 305 

Indian  Mutiny    ......     328-330 

placed  under  queen's  rule    ....  330 

In-vin'fu-ble  Ar-ma'da    ....     244-246 

Ireland  (Irish),  conquered  by  Henry 

II 103,  104 

conquered  by  Ireton 271 

converslonof 30,  31 

in  Eliziibeth's  reign 250 

rebellion  in 289 

Roman  Catholic  Church  in  .     .    .    .  288 

united  to  Great  Britain 310 

war  with  Cromwell 269 

wars  with 173,  203 

Ire'ton,  subdues  Ireland     .     .     .    269,  271 

Ig-a-bol'la,  Edwaid  II,  marries  .  .  .  141 
rules  during  Edward  III.'s  minority,  150 
signs  treaty  with  France      ....  148 

Isabella,  wife  of  Eichard  II.     .    .  172,  173 


Jac'ob-ites,  adherents  of  James  .    .    .  287 

become  loyal  subjects 306 

in  Ireland 289 

in  Scotland 300 

Tories  side  with 297 

Ja-mai'ca,  acquired  by  Cromwell  .  .  274 
James  I.  of  Scotland,  captivity  of,  176,  184 
James  IV.  of  Scotland,  death  of .  .  .  207 
James  V.  of  Scotland,  and  Henry  VIII.  220 
James  VI.  of  Scotland  (I.  of  England), 

character 253 

death  of 260 

divine  right  of  kings    ....    256,  261 
favours  Church  of  England  ....  252 

Gunpowder  Plot 254-256 

religious  conference 254 

James  II.  of  England,  crowned  .     .     .  283 

death  of 290 

favours  Catholics 285 

flees 285 

in  Ireland 289 

rebellion  under  Monmouth  ....  284 

successor  to  throne      .     .     278,  281,  282 

James  the  Pretender  .     .    .     290,  297,  300 

Jeffreys,  Judge 284,  285 

Je-ho'vah 246 

Jen'kins's  Ear,  War  of  ...  .  298,  299 
Je-ru'sa-lem,  taken  by  Saracens  .     .    .  105 

taken  by  Turks 86 

JeAvs,  in  Parliament 326 

massacre  of 106 

persecution  of 130 


PAGE 

Jews,  return  to  England 275 

torture  of 120 

Jo-an'  of  Arc,  at  Orleans 184 

burned  at  stake 186 

sold  to  English 185,  186 

victories  of 185 

John  of  England,  called  Lackland  .    .  Ill 

crowned 117 

death  of 124 

does  homage  to  pope 119 

favours  foreigners 125 

kills  Prince  Arthur 118 

makes  alliances 120 

pardoned  by  Richard 115 

John  I.,  King  of  France 162 

Jon'son,  Ben,  author 259 

Jop'pa,  Richard  I.  victorious  at .  .  .  Ill 
Joyce,  Captain,  seizes  Charles  I.  .  .  266 
Judg'ments  of  God,  defined     ....    81 

Ju-di'cial  duels 81 

Jutes,  Teutonic  tribe  .  .  .  .  .  32-34 
Jux'on,  Charles  I.'s  chaplain  ....  268 


Ken'il-worth  Castle,  Edward  II.  at     .  149 

Elizabeth  at 249 

Kent,  Duchess  of 321 

Kent,  Jutes  take  possession  of    ...  34 

KAar-tum',  Gordon  killed  at  ...    .  334 

King  George's  War 299 

King  William's  War 290 

King's  evil 69 

Kirk,  massacre  of       284 

Knights,  education  of     ...    .    160,  161 

new  order  of,  foumled      .    .     .    159,  160 

Knights  of  the  Round  Table   ....  36 

Knox,  Protestant  preacher     .     .    237,  238 


La  H6gt/e,  battle  of 289 

Lanc'as-ter,  Duke  of,  power  of     .    .    .  167 

secures  throne  of  Castile      ....  171 
Lancaster,  Earl  of 143 

beheaded 148 

revolt  of  barons  under 147 

Lancaster,  house  of   .     .  174,  179,  183,  189 

Lane,  assists  Charles  II 271 

Lan'franc,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury 

82,  84,  85 
Lang'ton,  Stephen,  Archbishop  of  Can- 
terbury   , 119 

La    Ro-9h6Ke',    Huguenots    besieged 

at 261 

Lat'i-mer,  preacher 223 

burned  at  stake 230,  231 

Laud,  minister  to  Charles  I.    .    .    262,  263 


'db^ 


PAGE 

L&i'ces'ter  Abbey,  Richard  III.  buried  at,  201 

Wolsey's  death  at 214 

Leicester,  Earl  of 236 

and  Mary,  Qneeti  of  Scots    ....  238 
receives  Elizabeth  at  Keiiil worth     .  249 

Leipzig  (lip'tsIG),  battle  of 315 

Leith 271 

Le-of'ric,  imposes  tax 71 

Le'o-pold  of  Austria   .     .     .     108,  110,  112 

Lew'es,  battle  of 126 

L»x'iiii:-ton,  battle  of 308 

Limoges  (le-mozh'),  revolt  of .    .     .     .  1G3 

Liiie'oZn,  French  defeat  at 125 

Stephen  defeated  at 94 

Lin-litli'go»',  captured 144 

Lit'er-a-ture,  imder  Elizabeth.     .    247,  249 

under  Queen  Anne 295 

Llew-el'lyii  (loo-),  Welsh  leader  .  131,  132 
Loch-le'ven  (loK-)  Castle   Mary  of  Scots 

at 241 

Log'a-rithms,  table  of,  invented  .  .  .  259 
Lol'lards,  persecution  of .     .     175,  180,  211 

teachings  of 170 

Lom'bards,  money-lenders 130 

Lon'don,  mob  in 168,  188 

plague  and  fire  in 279 

rebuilt 280 

refuses  admission  to  Margaret      .     .  190 

L6n'don-der-ry,  siegi'  of 289 

Lung  Battle,  Atholstan  wins    ....    54 

Long  Parliament 272 

Lo ({'is  XII.  of  France 207 

Louis  XIV.  of  France 290 

alliance  against 291 

loses  American  colonies       ....  295 

taxation  of 309 

Louis  XV.  of  France 309 

Louis  XVI.  of  France,  beheaded  .  .  309 
Louis  XVIII.  .if  France  ....  315,  319 
Lov'el,  Lord,  death  of     ...     .    203,  204 

Luck'now,  revolt  in 329 

relieved 330 

Lu'ther,  Martin,  ])reaching  of  .  .  .  211 
Lut'ter-worth,  Wyclif  at 170 

Mac-beth',  story  of 73 

MacDon'ald,  Flora,  aids  Prince  Cliarlie,  300 

MacDonalds,  at  Glencoe 288 

Mad  Parliament 126 

Ma-drSs',  English  settlement  at       .     .  303 

Mag'na  GhHr'ta.,  drawn  up  by  barons   .  122 

ratified  by  Edward  1 135 

ratified  by  Pembroke 124 

Maid  of  Orleans.    See  Joan  of  Arc. 

Mal'coZm  I.,  receives  Cumbria,     ,    ,    .  55 


PAGE 
Malplaquet  (mal-plfi-ka'),  battle  of      .  293 

Mantes  (inONt),  captured 83 

March,  Earl  of 174,  179 

Mar'ga-rct,  Queen,  defeats  Yorkists     .  190 

defeated  and  captured 194 

escapes  to  France 193 

flees  to  Scotland 191 

invades  England 191 

ransomed  by  her  father l'J5 

Marl'b6r-o?/f/A,  Duke  of,  chaiae.ter  .     ,  293 
commander  of  the  Dutch  and  English 

forces 291,  292 

victories  of 293,  294 

welcomes  George  1 29G 

Mar'ston  Moor,  battle  of 2G5 

Ma'ry,  Queen,  daughter  of  Henry  VIII.  223 

death  of 232 

marries  Philip  of  Spain 228 

persecutes  Protestants    .    .    .    230,  231 

war  with  France 232 

Mary,  Queen,  daughter  of  James  II.    .  282 

crowned 286 

death  of 290 

marriage  to  William  of  Orange    .     .  282 
Mary  Stuart,  Queen  of  Scotland  .     .     .  220 

condemned  to  death 243 

escape  of 241 

imprisoned  at  Dunbar 240 

imprisoned  by  Elizabeth     ....  242 

takes  title  of  Queen  of  England    .    .  237 

Mash'am,  Mrs.,  friend  of  Queen  Anne,  293 

Ma'sons'  Guild,  builds  cathedrals    .     .  128 

Ma-til'da,  wife  of  William  I.  .     .     .   76,  83 

Matilda,  wife  of  Henry  1 88 

Matilda,  daughter  of  Henry  I.     ...    92 

claims  throne 93 

marries  Geoffrey  Plantagenet  ...    92 

war  Avith  Stephen 94,  95 

May'flow-er,  Separatists  sail  in   .    .    .  254 

Med-i-ter-ra'ne-an  Sea 19 

Mee'rflt,  revolt  in 328 

Mel'I)Ourne,  Lord  ....  324,  325,  326 
Mel'rose  Abbey,  Bruce  buried  at  .  .  147 
MSn'oi  Strait,  English  killed  at  .  .  .  132 
Mer'ci-a  (-shi-a),  kingdom  formed  by 

Angles .    34 

Sler'lin,  prophecy  of 131 

Merry  England 277 

Mil' ton,  John,  poet 276,  282 

Min'den,  battle  of 303 

iV]is-so-lf)n'gM,  Byron's  death  at .  .  .320 
Mon'as-te'r-ies  .....  31,  40,  57,  69 
Monk,  General,  dismisses  Parliament.  276 

subdues  Scotland 271 

Mon'moQth,  Duke  of 278 

tries  to  secure  the  throne    ....  284 


352 


PAGE 

MOnt'fort,  Simon  de 126,  127 

M6N<-S:iiNt-Mi-9her,  Prince  Henry  at,  85 
More,  Sir  Tliomas,  chancellor     .     .     .  216 

death  of 217 

his  "Utopia" 217 

Mor'ti-mer,  escapes  to  France     .    .     .  148 

hanged  at  Tybnrn 152 

rules  during  Edward  III.'s  minority,  150 
Mur'ray,  imprisons  Mary  Stuart     .    .  241 

Na'pi-er,  John,  scientist 259 

Na-po'le-on  Bo'na-parte 310 

attacks  Austria  and  Russia  ....  314 
attempts  to  cross  Channel  .     .     312-314 

death  of,  at  St.  Helena 317 

Emperor  of  French 312 

First  Consul 311 

returns  from  Elba 317 

sent  to  Elba 315 

Ka§e'by,  battle  of 265 

Nav-i-ga'ti(ni  Act  .    .  271 

Na'vy,  English,  founders  of    .    .      50,  183 

increased 60,  235,  320 

Nel'son,  Admiral 311-313 

Iseth'er-lands.    See  Holland. 

Nev'iUe'§  Cross,  victory  of 157 

New  Am'ster-dam,  given  to  James  II.  283 
New'cas-de,  cual  brought  from  .  .  .  179 
New  England,  first  colony  in  .     .    .     .  254 

New  Fonst 82 

New'found-land,  discovered  by  Cabot.  205 

relinqtiished  hy  French 295 

News']  )a-pers,  circulation  of  first  .  .  275 
Ni-ag'a-ra,  Fort,  captured  by  British  .  303 
Night'in-gale,  Florence,  in  Crimean  War,  331 

Nik,  battle  of  the 311 

Non-con-form'ists,  in  James  I.'s  reign,  254 

Nor'foZk.  conspiracy  of 243 

Nor'man-dy,  given  to  Hobert ....    83 

Heni-y  I.  acquires 89,  91 

Northmen  settle  in 63 

seized  by  William  Eufus      ....    87 
taken  by  Philip  of  France    ....  118 

Nor'man  kings 76,  84,  88,  93 

Nor'mans,  become  friends  with  Saxons,  164 
castles  and  customs  of     ....    78-81 

invade  England 75,  76 

quarrel  with  Englishmen  ....  134 
North  A-m6r'i-ca,  English  in  .  297,  303,  307 
North-amp'ton,  Lancastrian  defeat  at .  190 

treaty  of 151 

North'men.    See  Danes. 
Nor-thum'ber-land,    and    Lady    Jane 

Grey 227,  228 

executed 228 

policy  of 225,  226 


PAGE 
Nor-thum'bri-a,  kingdom  of  ....  34 
Nor'waj',  conquei'ed  by  Canute  ...    65 

Norway,  Maid  of 137 

Nor-we'gi-ans,  attack  England    ...    87 

Not'ting-^am,  Countess  of 251 

Nottingham  Castle,  Mortimer  at  .  .  151 
Nottingham  Hill,  Charle.-  I.  at  .  .  .  265 
Nun'ner-ies 58 

Oath  of  supremacy 216 

O'Con'nell,  Daniel 320 

Order  of  the  Garter,  formed    .    .    .     .159 

Or'le-ans,  Duke  of 180 

Orleans,  siege  of 184 

Og'borne  in  Isle  of  Wight 336 

Ot'tt-r-burn,  battle  of 171 

Ou'den-ai-de,  battle  of 293 

Out'laws,  i)ifest  forests 115 

Ox'ford,  Wyclif  at 170 

Oxford  Castle,  Matilda  at 95 

Pal'es-tine,  Prince  Edward  in  ...     .  128 

Richard  I.  in 108-110 

Paim'ei-st(in,  prime  minister  ....  320 

Par'is,  peace  of 307 

Par'l.rt-ment,  and  Henry  III 125 

Bareljune's 272 

Catholics  in 320 

divided  into  Houses 136 

elects  Henry  IV.  king.     .     .     .    174,175 

first  real 127 

Irish  members  in 310 

Long 272 

Mad 126 

Pvump 266 

Scotch  members  in 295 

secures  reforms 164 

Short 263 

struggle  with  Charles  I.       .     .     261-267 

struggle  with  James  1 256 

under  York  and  Lancaster  .     .    195,  196 
Parr,  Catherine,  marries  Henry  VIII.  219 

P6a§'ants' Revolt 167-169,224 

Peel,  English  minister    ....    319,  326 

Peep' ing  Tom  of  Coventry 72 

Pem'broke,  Earl  of,  regent .  .  ,  124,  125 
Pen'der-ell,  befriends  Charles  II.     .     .  270 

Pen-in'su-lar  War 315 

Per'cys 171,  175,  180 

Pgr'rers,  Alice,  and  Edward  III.      .     .  165 

Pe'ter  the  Hermit 86 

Peter's  pence 45,  46 

Pe-ti'tion  of  Right 261,  286 

Phil'ip    of    France,   complains    about 
Richard HO 


353 


PAGE 
Philip  of  France,   ordered  to  invade 

England 119 

takes  Normandy 118 

Pliilip    II.   of    Spain,   claims   En<i;lish 

tliiDne 244 

conrts  Eliza lieth 23G 

disliked  by  English 'I'M) 

luiirries  Mary 221) 

victorious  at  St.  (^leiitiii      ....  232 

Phi-lip'pa  of  Hainault  (ha-no)     .     .     .  151 

intercedes  for  burghers  of  Calais  .    .  157 

vow  of 101 

Phoe-ui'cians  (-shuns) 19-21 

Picts  and  Scots,  driven  out  of  Britain  .    32 

raids  of 25-28,  31 

Pin'kie,  Scotch  defeat  at 224 

Pitt,  William,  English  minister  .    303,  307 

death  of 308 

Pitt,  William,  the  Younger     ....  308 
Pitts'burg,  so  called  in  honour  of  Pitt,  303 

PlagMc,  ravages  of 279 

Plan-tag'e-net  kings,   96,  106,  117,  124,  129, 
[140,  149,  166,  173,  179,  183,  19],  198,  201 

Plas'sey,  battle  of 304 

PK-m'outh  Rock,  Pilgrims  at  ...     .  254 
Poitiers  (pwii-ti-a'),  Euglisli  victory  at,  162 

Pole,  Cardinal 230 

Poll  tax 167,  170 

Pontefract  (pom'fret)  Castle,  Richard 

II. 's  death  at 173 

Pope,  the,  and  Henry  YIII.       .     .  212,  215 

Pope,  poet 295 

Por'tu-gal,  war  against  Napoleon    .     .  315 

Post'agc,  reduced 321,  325 

Post'al  servi(;e,  improved 275 

Potatoes,  introduced  into  Ireland  .    .  258 
Pres-by-te'ri-an  Church  in  Scotland     .  288 

Press,  freedom  of 290 

Pies-ton-pans',  l>attle  of 300 

Pre-tend'er,  proclaimed  James  III.      .  297 

in  Rome 300 

Pri'mate 100 

Prince  of  Wales,  first      ....     132,  134 

Print'iiig,  introduced      ....    196,  211 

PrOt'es-tants,  crown  to  go  to  .     .     .    .  287 

during  Charles  II.'s  reign     ....  282 

during  Edwai-d  YI.'s  reign  .     .    223,  224 

during  Elizabeth's  reign 234 

during  James  II.'s  reign 285 

first 170 

Huguenots 201 

in  Netherlands,  revolt  of     ....  244 

in  Scotland 237 

persecution  of    ...     .     228,  230,  231 

Prussia  (pn'ish'a) 299,  317 

.Pun-jab',  taken  by  the  British     .     ,     ,328 


PAGE 

Pu'ri-tan  party 266,  269 

ruritans 234 

called  Roundheads 264 

during  Ciiarles  II.'s  reign     .     .    278,  279 

during  James  I.'s  reign 2.54 

set  sail  fur  America 263 

Pym,  Puritan  leader 264 

Pyr'a-mids,  battle  of  the 311 

Quak'ers  settle  in  New  World  .  .  .281 
Que-bec',  captured  by  British  .  .  .  303 
Queen  Anne's  War 291 

Rag'nar  Lod'brog,  invades  England,  44,  45 

Rail'road,  first  English 320 

Ra'lel(/A,  Sir  Walter,  executed    .     .     .  258 

imprisoned 253 

seaman 245 

stury  of 246,  247 

Ramillies  (rii-me-ye'),  battle  of  .    292,  293 

Read'ing,  abbey  at 89 

Read'ing-glasses,  discovered  ....  128 

Ref-or-rua'tion,  Wyclif 170 

Martin  Luther 211 

Reign  of  Terror 309 

Res-to-ra'tion,  the 277 

Rev-o-lu'tion,  of  1688 287 

American 30i 

Rich'ard  I.,  Co  uv  de  Li-oN',  crowned  .  106 

death  of 116 

in  third  crusade 107-110 

recrowned 113 

return  of Ill,  112 

war  with  France 115 

Richard  II.  of  England,  abdicates  .     .  173 

crowned 166 

his  promises  to  peasants 168 

Richard  III.,  Duke  of  Gloucester    .    .  191 
conspires  against  Clarence  ....  195 

crowned 198 

death  of 201 

murders  young  princes     ,     .     .  194,  198 
plots  with  Warwick  and  Clarence    .  193 

proclaimed  Protector 197 

Richard,  Pi-ince,  muidered     ....  198 
Rich'mond,  Eail  of.    See  Henry  VII. 
Rid'ley,  burned  at  stake     .     .     .    230,  231 

Ri§'ing  Castle,  Isabella  at 152 

Riv'ers,  Earl,  executed 197 

Rizzio  (rit'se-o),  Mary's  secretary,  238,  239 
Rob'ert  I.  of  Scotland.     See  Bruce. 

Rcjbert,  son  of  William  1 82,  86 

Rob'in  Hood,  outlaw  chief 115 

Rob'sart,  Amy,  wife  of  Leicester     .    .  236 

Rochefori',  Napoleon  at 317 

Rol'lo,  R(;lf  Giing'er 63 


354 


PAGE 
E-o'nian  Cath'o-lics.     See  Catholics. 
Ro'iiians,  Imildings  destroyed      ...    33 

conquer  Britain 22,  25 

leave  Britain 26,  27,  29 

seek  Tin  Islands 20,  21 

Rooke,  Sir  George,  conquers  Gibraltar,  294 

R6§e'ber-y,  prime  minister 326 

Roses,  War  of 189-195,  201 

Kouen  (roo-6N'),  besieged  and  taken  .  182 

Joan  of  Arc  burned  at 186 

Richard  I.  buried  at 116 

Round'heads 264-266 

Ro-we'na,  Hengist's  daughter.     ...    33 

Roy'al  Oak 270 

Rump  Parliament 266 

Run'ny-mede,  John  at 122 

Ru'pert,  Prince 264 

Rus'sell,  prime  minister 326 

Russia  (rush'a),  attacked  by  Napoleon,  314 

Crimean  War 331 

Czarina  of 336 

helps  Greeks  against  Tm'ks      .     .     .  320 

Rye  House  Plot 282 

Ry§'wick,  treaty  of 290 

St.  Al'baus,  battle  of 190 

St.  Au'gus-tine,  converts  Anglo-Saxons 

39,  41 
St.  Brice's  day,  massacre  of  .  .  .  64,  69 
St.  Germain  (saN  zher-maN'),  James  II. 

at 286 

St.  He-le'ua,  Napoleon  at 317 

St.  Pat'rick,  story  of 29-31 

St.  Paul's  Church 279,  280 

St.  Pe'ter's  Church 45 

St.  Pierre  (saN  pe-ar'),  at  Calais.  .  .  157 
St.  Quentin  (saN  k6N-taN'),  battle  of  .  232 
St.  TAom'as  of  Canterbury  .     .     .    103,  104 

St.  Vin'cent,  battle  of 310 

Sal'a-din,  Saracen  chief  ....    108,  111 

Sal-a-man'ca,  battle  of 315 

Sal/§'bur-y,  Countess  of 159 

Salisbury,  prime  minister 326 

Sai-'a-cens,  in  Holy  Land     .     .  86,  110,  111 

war  with  Spain 146 

Sat'urn,  Roman  god 34 

Sa-voy'  Palace,  French  king  at    .     .     .  163 

Sax'on  kings 34-74 

Saxons,  at  war  with  Danes .    .     .44,  45,  47 
liecome  fiiends  with  Normans .    .    .  164 

defeated  by  Arthur 35 

education  and  morality  of    .    .    .  51,  52 

settle  in  Britain 32-34 

Schom'berg,  General,  killed  ....  289 
&eone,  coronation  at 137 


PAOE 

Scot'land  (Scots),  annexed  to  England,  138 

conquered  by  General  Monk    .     .     .  271 

Presbyterian  Church  in 288 

rebellion  in 284,  297 

sides  with  Eliziilteth 237 

united  with  England 295 

war  with  England 

150,  152,  171,  175,  207,  220,  224 
wins  independence.     .     .    .344-146,151 

Scots  and  Picts 25-28,  31,  32 

Scri-ba'ri-um,  monastery  library  .  .  58 
Scrope,  Archbishop  of  York,  rebels .    .  176 

Sedge'moor,  battle  of 284 

Seine,  river 186 

Sen'lac,  battle 75,  76 

Sep'a-ra-tists,  sail  for  New  World    .    .  254 

Serfs,  or  slaves 36 

Sev-en-oaks',  battle  of 188 

Seven  Years'  War  ....      301,  303,  306 

Se-ve'rus,  wall  of 26,  29 

Sey'inour,  Jane,  marries  Henry  VIII.  .  218 

Shake'spe«re,  William    „ 249 

Sh6r-iif-muir',  battle  of 297 

Sher'wood  Forest,  Robin  Hood  in    .     .  115 

Ship  money 262 

Shore'/tam,  Charles  II.  at 271 

Shrews'bur-j^,  battle  of 175 

SiQ'i-ly,  Prince  Edward  in 129 

Sid'ney,  Sir  Philip,  death  of    ...     .  247 

Sik^s,  English  defeat 328 

Sim'nel,  Lam'bert,  pretender  .  .  .  203 
Slav'er-y,  abolished  in  colonies   .    .    •  321 

Slave  trading,  introduced 222 

Smith'field,  Richard  II.  at 169 

Sn6i:;'don,  Mount,  Glendower  on     .     .  175 

Welsh  on 132 

Sol'way  Moss,  Scotch  defeat  at  .  .  .  220 
Som'er-set,  Duke  of,  closes  monasteries,  223 

executed 225 

invades  Scotland 224 

named  Protector 222 

Somerset,  Margaret's  adviser.  .  189,  190 
Somme  River,  Edward  III.  at  .  .  .  153 
So-phi'a,  heir  to  the  throne     .     .    287,  296 

South  Sea  Bubble 297,  298 

Sotith'zfark,  camp  at 188 

Spain,  cedes  Florida  to  England  .     .     .  307 

Charles  v.,  ruler  of 207 

declares  war  against  Napoleon     .     .  315 
makes  ccmpact  with  France     .    298,  299 

Thirty  Years'  War 259 

tin  mines  in 19 

war  with  England 245,  313 

"  Spec-ta'tor,"  early  English  magazine,  295 
Spen'ser's  "  Fa'e-rie  Queenc  "  .  .  .  .247 
Spit'al-fields,  silk  factory  at    ...    .  288 


355 


PAOE 

Stani'ford  BUdge,  battle  of     ....    75 

Stamp  Act ^07 

Star  Chamber 205,  252 

eTul  of 204 

Steele,  English  author 295 

Ste'pheii,  King,  civil  war     .     .     .     .  94,  95 

crowned 93 

death  of 96 

Stir'ling,  surrender  of     ...     .    144,  145 
Stirling  Bridge,  English  defeat  at    .     .  138 

Stoke,  Irish  defeated  at 203 

Stone  Age,  defined 12 

Stone'henge,  temple  of  Druids     ...    17 

Strafford,  Earl  of       262-264 

StraAV,  Jack,  leads  mob    ....    168,  169 

Stu'art,  Lady  Arabella 253 

Stuart  kings 241,  260,  276,  283 

Sue-to'ni-us  (swe-),  Roman  general,   24,  25 
Suffolk,  Margaret's  adviser    .     .     .     .188 

Suffolk,  Duchess  of 222 

Sur'rey,  Lord,  victory  over  Scots     .    .  207 

Sus'sex,  Saxon  kingdom 34 

Sweyu,  Danish  king 64 

Swift,  En-lisb  Avriter 295 

Swit'zei"-land,  niissiouaries  in      ...    31 
Syr'i-a,  Napoleon  in 311 

Ta-la-ve'ra,  battle  of 315 

Tfin-gier',  becomes  English  possession,  278 
"Tat'ler,"first  English  magazine    .     .295 

Tel'e-graph,  first     . 325 

Tcl'e-scopes,  first 128 

Ten'ny-son's  "  Charge  of  the  Light  Bri- 
gade"       331 

"Idylls  of  the  King" 36 

"Lady  Godiva's  Ride"      .     .     .     .70-72 

Teu-ton'ic  race,  Angles 33 

Danes,  or  Northmen 42,  44 

Jutes 32 

Saxons 32,  33 

visit  shores  of  Britain 31 

Tewkes'bur-y,  battle  of 194 

Thames  (teinz) 257 

'I'lianeg,  duties  of 36 

Than'et,  given  to  Jutes 32 

Thirty  Years'  War 259 

Tiidr,  god  of  thunder 33 

Ti-con-der-o'ga,  captured  by  British    .  303 
Tihcbebrai  (taNsb-bra'),  battle  of    .     .    89 

Tin  Islands 20 

Tiu,  god  of  war 33 

To-bac'co,  introduced  into  England     .  253 
To'ries  and  Whigs,  quarrels  of     .    282,  295 

side  with  Jacobites 297 

T0U-I6N',  recovered  by  French     .     .     .310 


PAGE 

Tower  of  London,  built 79 

Tow'ton,  battle  of 191 

Traf-al-gar',  battle  of 313 

Trafalgar  Square 314 

Treaty,  of  Aix-la-Chapelle  .     .     .    299,  300 

of  Amiens 312 

of  Bretigny .  163 

of  Campoformio 311 

of  Northampton 151 

of  Paris 3C7 

of  Ryswick 290 

ofTroyes 182,  184 

of  Utrecht 295 

of  Wallingford 95,  96 

of  Wedmore 50 

Trial  by  jury,  instituted 97 

Trials  by  ordeal 37,  38 

Trip'o-li,  pirates  at,  subdued  ....  274 
Troyes  (trwa),  treaty  of  ...    .    182,  184 

Tii'dor  architecture 206 

Tudor  kings  .  .  .  202,  206,  222,  228,  233 
Tii'nis,  pirates  at,  subdued  ....  274 
Tyburn,  place  of  execution  .  .  152,  204 
Ty'ler,  Wat,  leads  mob  ....     167-169 

Ty-rone',  Earl  of,  rebels 250 

Tyr'rel,  Sir  Walter 87 

United  King'dom 11 

United  States,  Civil  War 334 

recognition  of 308 

taxation  in 307 

U'tr6€/tt,  treaty  of 295 

Van-dyke',  Dutch  artist 260 

Van  Tr6mp,  Dutch  admiral    ....  271 

Ven'er-a-ble  Bede 42 

Vic-to'ri-a,  Queen,  character  of  .     .     .  322 

childhood  of 321,  322 

children 335,  336 

coronation  of 323 

Empress  of  India 330 

improvements  during  reign  of      .    .334 

jubilee  of 337 

marriage  of 324 

occupations  of 336 

reforms  during  reign  of 327 

Vic-to'ri-an  Age 327 

Vi  gn'na,  assembly  at 317 

Vienne,  Jean  de  (zh6N  du  ve-6n')    .     .  156 

Vik'iiigs.    See  Danes. 

Vir  gin'i-a,  granted  to  Raleigh    .    .    .  247 

Vi-to'ri-a,  liattle  of 315 

Voi-'ti-gern,  death  of 34 

gives  Thanet  to  Jutes 32 

solicits  aid  from  Germans    .     .    .   31,  32 


356 


PAGE 

Wake'fleld,  Yorkist  defeat  at ...    .  190 

\Vale§  (Welsh),  annexed      .    .    .    131,  132 

Brituns  take  jjossession  of    ....    32 

exterminate  wolves 60 

language  of 35 

rebellion 175 

Wallace  (w6l'is),  William,  war  with,  138,139 

Wgil'ling-ford,  treaty  of 95,  96 

Wal'ijole,  prime  minister    .     .    .    296,  298 

Warsing-/tam,  minister  to  Elizabeth  .  235 

War,  of  Austrian  Succession  ....  299 

of  Spanish  Succession      .    .    .     290-295 

of  tlie  Roses 189-195,  201 

of  1812 315 

War'beck,  Per'kin,  pretender      .     .    .  204 
War'tt'ick  Castle,  Gaveston  at      .    .    .  14:3 
Warwick,  Richard,  Earl  of,  at  North- 
ampton     190 

enters  London 190,  191 

kiUed 194 

revenge  of 193 

the  kingmaker 194 

Warwick,  Edward,  Earl  of,  beheaded  .  204 
Wijsh'ing-ton,  George,  American  gen- 
eral      308 

Wa-ter-lo(/,  Napoleon  at 317 

Wat'ling  Street 50 

Wed' more,  treaty  of 50 

Wel'ling-ton,  victories  of    .     .    .    315,  317 

Wes'sex,  Saxon  kingdom 34 

West'min-ster  Abl)ey,  62, 141  183,  206 

259,  275,  276 

Whigs  and  Tories 282 

quarrels  of 295-297 

Wliite'hall,  palace  of 208 

White  Ship,  the 91 

Whit'ting-ton,  Lord  Mayor  of  London 

178,  179 
Wil'ber-force,  abolishes  slavery  .  .  .321 
Wil'liam  I.,  builds  Tower  of  London   .    79 

claims  throne 74 

crowned      ,     , 76,  78 

curfew  liell 81 

death  of 83,  84 

Domesday  Book 81 

feudalism  introduced       .    .     .     .  80,  81 

New  Forest 82 

war  with  P»,ubei-t 83 

wins  battle  of  Senlac 75 


PAGE 

William  II.,  Ru'fus,  attacks   Prince 

Henry 85 

crowned 84 

killed  in  New  Forest 87 

seizes  Normandy 87 

William  III.  of  Or'ange,  and  Mary  .     .  285 

campaign  in  Ireland 289 

character  of 287 

crown  offered  to 286 

death  of 296 

founds  hospital  and  Bank  of  England  291 

freedom  of  worship 288 

King  William's  War 290 

William  IV.,  reign  of     ....    320,321 

William,  Prince,  death  of 91 

Win'ches-ter,  Alfred  buried  at    ...    53 

Win'fZgor  Palace,  built 165 

Earl  of  jSIarch  imprisoned  at   .    .    .  174 

residence  of  Victoria 336 

Win'ter,  seaman 245 

Wit'e-na-ge-mot  ...  37,  47,  55,  61,  64 
Woden,  Teutonic  god  ....  32,  33,  36 
Wol'gey,  Archbishop  f.f  York       .     .    .208 

Chancellor  of  State 208 

fall  and  death  of 214 

in  Heniy  VIII.'s  divorce  case  .     212-214 
Wood'stock,  estate  given  to  Marlbor- 

ouj-h 293 

Fair  Rosamond  at 96 

Worce&'ter,  battle  of 270 

^^'orld■s  fair,  first       325 

Wren,  Sir  Christopher,  architect     .     .  280 

Wy'att,  executed 229 

Wyc'lif,  English  reformer 164 

death  of 170,  171 

translates  Bible  into  English  .    .    .170 

York,  Charles  I.  at 264 

Parliament  at 142 

Roman  camps  at 25 

York,  Duke  of,  claims  throne      .    .     .  188 

killed 190 

power  of 167 

Protector 189 

York,  house  of 149,  191,  198 

Young  Pretender 300 

Zu'lus,  war  with 334 

ziit'phen,  battle  of 247 


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